1.General information of gastric cancer
Gastric cancer is a common malignant tumor in the world as well as in China, accounting for the first place of digestive tract tumors and the third place of all malignant tumors. Although the incidence of gastric cancer has been decreasing significantly in the past 30 years worldwide, the mortality rate of gastric cancer still takes the first place of all kinds of tumors in China. Stomach cancer is mostly seen in men, and its incidence increases rapidly with age, mostly concentrated above 55 years old, and only 5% of patients are under 30 years old. There are far more male patients than female patients with gastric cancer in China, and the ratio is about 3 to 4:1. 160,000 people die of gastric cancer in China every year.
2.The common causative factors of stomach cancer
(1) Genetic factors: Stomach cancer has the tendency of familial gathering. It is found that the incidence rate of stomach cancer among relatives related to stomach cancer patients is 4 times higher than that of ordinary people who do not have relatives with stomach cancer. There is also a relationship between blood type and gastric cancer. The risk of gastric cancer for people with blood type A is 20%-30% higher than that for people with other blood types.
(2) Environmental factors: There are obvious geographical differences in the incidence of gastric cancer. The geographical distribution of stomach cancer incidence in China is highest in the east and northwest of China, eastward through Gansu Hexi Corridor, northern Shanxi, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, and then southward along the coast to Jiaodong Peninsula and Jiangsu and Zhejiang, forming a high incidence zone of stomach cancer in China.
(3) Dietary factors: dietary factors are the most important factors in the development of gastric cancer. For example, Iceland is a country with high incidence of gastric cancer, where residents mostly live on fishing and have the habit of eating smoked fish and smoked lamb.
(4) Stomach disorders: Some patients with stomach cancer are caused by the deterioration of the original stomach lesions, and the stomach diseases that are prone to stomach cancer are as follows.
(i) gastric polyps.
② chronic atrophic gastritis.
(iii) residual stomach after partial gastrectomy.
④ gastric ulcer.
⑤ gastric Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection.
3.Prevention is the key
At present, prevention is mainly from the following two aspects.
One is to control and exclude the suspected carcinogenic factors, and the incidence rate will naturally decrease after eliminating the causes, which is the first line of defense to curb gastric cancer.
The second is to achieve early detection and early treatment through regular medical checkups or regular follow-up examinations for high-risk groups. According to the follow-up results of Beijing Stomach Cancer Registry, only 14% of gastric cancer patients can live for more than 5 years, while the survival rate of early gastric cancer can reach more than 90% in 5 years after surgery, but the current diagnosis rate of early gastric cancer in China is only 4.1%, and as many as 42.4% of patients are already in advanced stage when diagnosed.
The first line of defense
Pay attention to dietary hygiene.
Avoid eating more irritating foods, moderate drinking, eat regularly and stop overeating, which can help reduce the occurrence of gastritis and gastric ulcers, which are risk factors for gastric cancer.
Freezing and preservation
Whether in Japan or Northern Europe, where stomach cancer is highly prevalent. The incidence of gastric cancer has been decreasing since the use of frozen food preservation in Japan and Northern Europe, where the incidence of gastric cancer is high, and in regions where the incidence of gastric cancer is low. Japanese research found that the higher the occupancy rate of refrigerators in households, the lower the incidence of gastric cancer. It is believed that the current national promotion of home appliances to the countryside will help the popularity of refrigerators, which will be beneficial to the prevention of gastric cancer.
Avoid high-salt diet
High-salt diet can destroy the mucus protective layer of gastric mucosa, and after the protective layer is damaged, the gastric mucosa is exposed, which is not only vulnerable to direct damage, but also easily exposed to carcinogenic substances, therefore, the salt content in food should be reduced to about 6 grams per day, and low salt can also help prevent hypertension.
Regular consumption of fresh vegetables and fruits rich in vitamin C
Studies all over the world consistently show that fresh vegetables and fruits have protective effect on stomach cancer prevention, and the relative risk of stomach cancer is reduced by 30% to 70% for people who regularly consume fresh vegetables. For example, Cang Shan County in Shandong Province in China produces garlic and garlic scapes, and has a low incidence of stomach cancer, which is the lowest incidence county north of Yangtze River.
Consume foods rich in vitamin A
After an eight-year follow-up survey on the diet and health status of more than 80,000 Swedish adults, Swedish scientists found that vitamin A can effectively stop and inhibit the proliferation and spread of cancer cells, and is particularly effective in preventing gastrointestinal cancer. For gastric cancer patients, vitamin A can help reduce the recurrence rate of cancer in patients receiving chemotherapy, in addition to altering the permeability of cancer cell membranes and facilitating the entry of anti-cancer drugs into cancer cells, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of treatment. Tomatoes, carrots, spinach, peppers, and cod liver oil and dairy products are rich in vitamin A.
Active treatment of gastric ulcer and atrophic gastritis
For gastric ulcers that do not heal for a long time and atrophic gastritis with severe atypical hyperplasia, as well as multiple polyps or single polyps larger than 2cm in diameter, surgical treatment is taken.
Second line of defense
Screening of gastric cancer among healthy people is an important way to detect gastric cancer at an early stage and an effective measure to reduce the mortality rate of gastric cancer, because only early gastric cancer has the possibility of cure. At present, there is no very good means for stomach cancer screening. In Japan, gastric cancer screening has been carried out for more than 40 years since 1960, and great achievements have been made. Gastroscopy is a more reliable examination method and should still be used as a priority for high-risk groups and people with gastric disorders, but it is more expensive, painful and not easily popularized. X-ray imaging is also a more common method. In recent years, screening gastric cancer with gastric juice and serum is being studied, and with the development of medical science, it is believed that an economical, easy and reliable method can be found.
As a malignant tumor, gastric cancer seriously threatens people’s healthy life, but the development of gastric cancer is a gradual process. If we develop good habits in daily life and build two lines of defense against gastric cancer, it will surely have a certain deterrent effect on the development of gastric cancer.