Upper gastrointestinal imaging is helpful in checking for gastric cancer, but it has certain limitations and is not the most reliable diagnostic tool at present.
The stomach is a hollow organ, and when upper gastrointestinal imaging is performed, the contrast agent fills the inner lumen of the stomach, which can form a clear contrast with the surrounding tissues and help to clearly outline the structural details of the inner lumen and inner wall of the stomach, so as to achieve the purpose of disease detection and diagnosis. If there is destruction, disappearance or interruption of mucosal folds, rigidity of the adjacent gastric mucosa and disappearance of peristalsis, the possibility of gastric cancer is higher.
It should be noted that upper gastrointestinal imaging may find ulcers and elevated foci in the stomach, which are niches or filling defects respectively, but it is difficult to identify their benign or malignant nature, which has limited value in the detection and diagnosis of gastric cancer, and may lead to missed diagnosis and misdiagnosis, especially for those with milder conditions.
Gastroscopy combined with mucosal biopsy is the most reliable means to diagnose gastric cancer at present. It is recommended that gastroscopy should be performed regularly, and if there is any abnormality, timely intervention should be made and standardized treatment should be given.