How often to have a gastroscopy depends on the individual and cannot be generalized. It is recommended that the general population should have gastroscopy every 3~5 years, and for people with high risk of gastric cancer, it is recommended to have gastroscopy every 1~2 years.
People at high risk of gastric cancer are aged ≥40 years and meet any one of the following criteria: people in areas with high prevalence of gastric cancer; Helicobacter pylori infection; pre-cancerous gastric diseases such as chronic atrophic gastritis, gastric ulcer, post-surgical gastric remnants, pernicious anemia, etc.; first-degree relatives with a history of gastric cancer; and other high-risk factors, such as salted diet, smoking and alcohol abuse.
It is generally recommended that high-risk people over 40 years old should have a gastroscopy routinely, and then every 1~2 years thereafter. If patients have chronic gastritis with precancerous states such as atrophy and intestinal metaplasia, they should be followed up regularly, and those without family history of gastric cancer should be reviewed once every 5 years, and those with family history should be reviewed once every 1~2 years. For those with mild heterogeneous hyperplasia of gastric mucosa and low-grade neoplasia, gastroscopy should be repeated in 3~6 months, and for those with high-grade neoplasia, gastroscopy should be repeated in 1~3 months.
Gastroscopy is a kind of digestive endoscopy, which is commonly used for the examination and minimally invasive treatment of esophageal, gastric and duodenal diseases, and can be used for the early examination of gastric cancer, with the advantage of visualizing the lesions and taking pathological biopsies.
If the patient has long-term stomach discomfort, it is recommended to go to regular hospitals, and determine the frequency of gastroscopy with the combination of their own situation and the doctor’s advice.