A gastric cancer screening and treatment program by National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) in Matsu has successfully reduced the gastric cancer incidence rate in the archipelago by 53 percent in 14 years.
Gastric cancer is the fifth-most common cancer and the third-biggest cause of cancer deaths worldwide.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer has predicted that the number of gastric cancer patients would continue to grow in the next 30 years due to the aging population.
Photo: Yang Yuan-ting, Taipei Times
Due to dietary habits and limited medical resources, Matsu has the highest gastric cancer incidence rate in Taiwan, up to three times the nationwide average.
As Helicobacter pylori bacteria infection is the biggest known risk factor for gastric cancer, NTUH in 2004 launched a program to offer H. pylori screening to Matsu residents 30 years or older, and prescribed medication for H. pylori eradication when applicable.
NTUH department of internal medicine professor Lee Yi-chia (李宜家) said that the hospital screened 7,616 residents between 2004 and 2018, a coverage rate of about 85.5 percent, and among those who received treatment, the H. pylori eradication rate was 93.5 percent.
Due to the program, the H. pylori prevalence rate significantly dropped from nearly 70 percent in 2004 to about 10 percent in 2018, gastric cancer incidence decreased by 53 percent and the mortality rate fell 25 percent, Lee said.
The prevalence rate of H. pylori in adults nationwide is about 31.4 percent, or an estimated 5.9 million, while the prevalence rate in young people is estimated to be about 10 percent, he said.
The bacteria is commonly transmitted among family members through contaminated food or sharing eating utensils, and it can cause chronic gastric inflammation, with about 80 percent of gastric cancer cases found to be linked to H. pylori infection, he added.
NTUH superintendent Wu Ming-shiang (吳明賢) said that the hospital last year held a global consensus meeting on H. pylori screening and gastric cancer prevention, and participants produced 26 guidelines for gastric cancer prevention based on the scientific evidence from the hospital’s study in Matsu.
To highlight Taiwan’s contributions, Gut — a leading international journal on gastroenterology and hepatology — used images of Taiwan, including Taipei 101, on the front cover of its issue this month.
NTUH gastroenterology department attending physician Liou Yh-ming (劉志銘) said that people who often suffer discomfort in the upper stomach or who feel bloated should to undergo an H. pylori screening.
People 50 years or older with a family history of gastric cancer should undergo an H. pylori screening with their regular gastroscopy, Liou said, adding that eradicating H. pylori infection can prevent gastric cancer.
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