A friend went to a gastroscope, and the doctor sent him a note. He chatted with me and told me that the first one should be fasting for more than 8 hours. Just like a physical examination, he always felt a little uneasy. The whole stomach was empty and a tube was inserted. Stop piercing. I told him that gastroscopy is to see if there are any abnormal changes in the esophagus and stomach wall. If there is food in the stomach, after the gastroscope is in, not only may the stomach wall be invisible, but it will increase the chance of injury to the stomach wall.

I asked her why she had a gastroscope, and she said that both parents had stomach problems, and her cousin had been suffering from stomach cancer for many years, and she was worried about the family history. She said that she was afraid of having a gastroscope, and asked me if there was any simple way to detect gastric cancer, such as unique symptoms and so on.

I said, this really isn’t there.

The initial symptoms of gastric cancer are similar to those of gastric disease, and the incidence is regional

Gastric cancer may have no symptoms in the early stage, and even if there are symptoms, it may be similar to ordinary stomach diseases, such as abdominal pain, bloating, nausea, vomiting, etc. Many people think that it is because they did not eat good food, sleep cold to the stomach, etc. The problem, I would not have thought it was gastric cancer. When the problem is serious or the abnormal stomach persists for a long time, the patient goes to the hospital for examination, and often has entered the advanced stage or even has metastasis. At this time, the opportunity for treatment may have been missed. Therefore, for gastric cancer, prevention and early detection Very important.

The incidence of gastric cancer varies from country to country. In general, the incidence and mortality rates show a downward trend, which is related to the development of examination and treatment methods. More importantly, the etiology of gastric cancer is more clearly understood (we Helicobacter pylori will be mentioned later).

However, there are large differences between countries. Among them, the incidence rate in Asia is much higher than that in Europe and the United States. There are many reasons for consideration, but they are mainly related to eating habits and eating patterns. Because in more developed countries, the preservation of food, anti-oxidation, etc. are more advanced, and the variety of food is rich, which avoids the impact of nitroso compounds and other harmful substances on the gastrointestinal tract, which helps to reduce the occurrence of gastric cancer; In addition, in some countries such as China, the meal-sharing system is not very popular, which increases the spread of Helicobacter pylori, which may also lead to an increase in the incidence of gastric cancer.

From the epidemiological data, environmental influences have obvious effects on the incidence of gastric cancer, such as immigration from areas with high incidence to areas with low incidence, then these people will not have obvious effects on the incidence of gastric cancer. However, after their children and offspring are integrated into the local society, the incidence rate will show a larger downward trend.

Could Helicobacter pylori cause stomach cancer?

Helicobacter pylori is a fungus discovered in the gastric mucosa of patients with chronic active gastritis in 1983, and it is currently the only microorganism that can survive in the human stomach. In 2017, the World Health Organization included Helicobacter pylori infection on the list of Class I carcinogens.

Helicobacter pylori is currently considered to be the main cause of abnormal gastrointestinal motility, and further damages the stomach wall, causing inflammation and long-term gastric cancer. , In underdeveloped countries, food and water are more susceptible to contamination, leading to higher rates of H. pylori infection.

The reason why Helicobacter pylori can survive in the stomach is mainly by one of its own means, which is to produce urea, which can neutralize the gastric acid secreted by the human body. In this case, Helicobacter pylori can continue to survive in the stomach, and at the same time It also changes the stomach environment, increasing the adverse stimulation of the stomach. However, because of this, we can confirm the diagnosis through urea breath examination. At present, it is mainly the detection method of carbon 13 and carbon 14.

For the treatment of Helicobacter pylori, it is also a mature program at present. Generally, quadruple antibiotic therapy is used for 14 consecutive days, which can cure the infection of Helicobacter pylori, thereby avoiding the progression to gastric cancer.

There are many types of gastric cancer, but most of them are adenocarcinomas

Clinically, doctors will classify gastric cancer according to the different cells of malignant tumor differentiation source, which will help to treat and understand the prognosis of the disease. Generally speaking, it will be divided into adenocarcinoma, lymphoma, gastrointestinal stromal tumor, and malignant leiomyosarcoma. Wait, but more than 90% of them are adenocarcinomas. Of course, there will be some specific distinctions among adenocarcinomas. We will discuss them in detail next time.

Having said that, we should be able to talk about gastroscopy, because this is one of the main visual inspection methods for gastric cancer at present, so when to do gastroscopy is very important.

What kind of situation to do gastroscopy?

Some people will ask, should you go for a gastroscopy as long as you have an upset stomach? This is unnecessary. If it is so over-medical, and gastroscopy is considered a small operation, doing it at any time will increase the risk of damaging the esophagus and stomach wall, then under what circumstances should gastroscopy be performed?

1. Persistent upper gastrointestinal symptoms, usually more than 3 weeks;

2. Knowing that you have stomach discomfort, and after treatment, the symptoms of the upper gastrointestinal tract are not relieved;

3. Long-term gastroesophageal reflux;

4. Frequent bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract, black stools, or anemia for unknown reasons;

5. Suspected that he has a tumor or peptic ulcer, and that there is a problem of upper gastrointestinal stenosis;

6. Obvious upper gastrointestinal symptoms after the age of 50;

7. There are family history problems, and many close relatives have gastric ulcers and gastric cancers;

8, gastric ulcer, gastric cancer examination after treatment and so on.

Of course, even if the above conditions are not present, if you go to the hospital to consider the condition or rule out the disease, the patient may be asked to undergo a gastroscopy. At this time, the patient needs to cooperate to find the cause of the disease as soon as possible to prevent the disease from progressing. Of course, if there are concerns, the patient can be assessed with the attending physician to avoid risks.

What are the preparations for a gastroscope? How is the process?

1, hungry:

Before doing gastroscopy, there are some precautions. First of all, you must fast for at least 8 hours. As we said earlier, it is to have a good field of vision and better observe the situation of the stomach wall.

In addition, during gastroscopy, if food enters the lungs due to vomiting, there is a risk of aspiration pneumonia, so it is necessary to fast.

As for the problem of drinking water, the study believes that taking about 200ml of water two hours before the examination generally does not affect the examination.

2. Take defoamer:

The main consideration for taking defoamer is to reduce the air bubbles in the stomach and facilitate observation.

3. Slow down gastrointestinal motility:

Anti-acetylcholine drugs are mainly used to reduce gastrointestinal motility, facilitate the observation of gastroscope, and reduce the risk of injury. However, these drugs may have side effects such as dry mouth and rapid heartbeat. Most people do not need to worry about them, but there are glaucoma, enlarged prostate or heart disease. Sick patients need to inform their doctor.

4. Lying on the left side:

The main purpose is to prevent vomit from entering the trachea. The doctor will ask the subject to lie on the left side, and also put the endoscope into the examination in the direction of the doctor. In addition, in the process of gastroscopy, try to inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth, and avoid swallowing, otherwise inhalation into the lungs may cause aspiration pneumonia.

Generally speaking, in the process of gastroscopy, if a tumor is found, the doctor will consider doing a biopsy. Similarly, if it is gastritis, a biopsy will be performed to see if there is a problem of Helicobacter pylori infection.

What should I pay attention to after gastroscopy?

Painless gastroscopy uses local anesthetics and lasts for a while after the examination, so you should not drink or eat for one hour after the examination.

If a biopsy is performed, the fasting time may be increased further.

After returning home, if you have severe abdominal pain, vomiting blood, or discharge of black stools, you should report to the doctor as soon as possible or go to the hospital emergency room. This may be a rare complication of gastroscopy, such as perforation of the stomach. , bleeding, etc.