It is reported that 400,000 new gastric cancer patients are found in China every year, accounting for 42% of the world incidence, among which Shandong, Jiangsu, Henan and coastal areas such as Fujian and Guangzhou are all high incidence areas of gastric cancer, while new gastric cancer patients show a trend of youthfulness, and the proportion of young people under 30 years old with gastric cancer has doubled from 1.7% in the 1970s to 3.3%. Song Fang, Department of Cardiology, People’s Hospital of Guizhou Province
The incidence of gastric cancer generally increases significantly with age, and the peak incidence is usually between 50-80 years old, but from the current clinical data, the incidence of gastric cancer among young people is increasing rapidly, and in the past 5 years, the incidence of gastric cancer among young people aged 19-30 years old has doubled compared with 30 years ago. Among young people with gastric cancer, the incidence rate of women is twice as high as that of men, which may be related to the change of estrogen level in women at this stage, and some women are also found to have breast cancer at the same time. Gastric cancer in young people is characterized by a higher degree of malignancy and is prone to early metastasis, and many patients are already metastatic when they are found.
The causes of middle and young people developing middle and late stage gastric cancer may include: mental tension, high work pressure, severe sleep deprivation, irregular diet, irregular life, preference for smoked, high salt and spicy food, addiction to tobacco and alcohol, environmental pollution and other factors.
If the lesions of gastric cancer can be detected when they are limited to the mucosal layer, the 5-year survival rate can reach 95%; however, the diagnosis rate of early gastric cancer in China is less than 10%, and the 5-year survival rate of gastric cancer patients is less than 20%; while in Japan, the diagnosis rate of early gastric cancer can reach 68%. Early symptoms of gastric cancer are insidious and often similar to those of gastritis and peptic ulcer. When patients experience upper abdominal discomfort, hidden pain, feeling of fullness after meals, loss of appetite, emaciation, weakness, frequent vomiting of overnight food and gastric juice without bile, and black tarry stools, they should seek medical examination as early as possible. For people with high risk of stomach cancer, such as those with atrophic gastritis, gastric ulcer, gastric polyps, pernicious anemia, post-gastrectomy and family history of stomach cancer, gastroscopy should be performed at least once every two years for early detection and treatment.
Tips to prevent stomach cancer.
1. Eat less or no pickles
2. Do not eat smoked food or fried food
3. Eat less salt
4. Don’t smoke and drink less alcohol
5. Develop good eating habits
6. Eat more fresh vegetables and fruits
7. Protect drinking water hygiene
8. Actively treat precancerous lesions of stomach cancer and eradicate Helicobacter pylori