Surgical treatment of gastric cancer detected by mass screening

Abstract

Background/aims: It is crucial to improve the postoperative prognosis of patients with gastric cancer in geographic regions where the incidence of gastric cancer is high. This study compared the efficacy of surgical treatment in patients with gastric cancer detected by a mass screening survey with that of patients diagnosed in accordance with standard medical practice.

Methodology: The subjects included 189 patients with gastric cancer detected by a mass screening survey (screening group) who underwent surgical treatment from 1988 to 1995, and 517 patients who underwent a standard medical work-up (non-screening group).

Results: The incidence of early gastric cancer, curative resectability rate, and 5-year survival rates between the screening and non-screening groups were 73.0% versus 48.4% (p < 0.01), 90.5% versus 66.7% (p < 0.01), and 86.2% versus 61.0% (p < 0.01), respectively.

Conclusions: Surgical treatment for patients with gastric cancer identified by mass screening is effective in saving lives and reduces the mortality from gastric cancer in the target population of mass screening. However, a further prospective randomized controlled study of this screening method will be necessary in the future.