Gastric Cancer Screening; Current Modalities and Strategies

Abstract

Gastric cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide being the 5th most common cancer and the 4th leading cause of cancer death. The most common type of gastric cancer is adenocarcinoma and is divided into two types; cardia and non-cardia gastric cancer. The incidence of non-cardia gastric cancer is declining due to the better detection and treatment of H. pylori which is one of its main risk factors. On the other hand, the incidence of the cardia type is rising due to the increase rate of obesity and gastroesophageal reflux disease. Worldwide, mass screening for gastric cancer is not currently implemented due to its variable incidence and cost effectiveness especially in low-risk countries. However, some countries with high incidence of gastric cancer have developed national screening programs which have led to better detection and reduction in mortality. There are different modalities that are approved for screening including upper endoscopy and photofluorography. Additionally, a few serum biomarkers have also been developed for screening which have promising results.