| Theme | Helicobacter pylori update | |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Is Serum Helicobacter pylori IgG Antibody Test Useful for Gastric Cancer Screening? | |
| Publish Date | 2005/01 | |
| Author | Masahiko Sasajima | Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine (Oomori) School of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Toho University |
| Author | Yoshihisa Urita | Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine (Oomori) School of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Toho University |
| Author | Kazumasa Miki | Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine (Oomori) School of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Toho University |
| [ Summary ] | Many previous studies have suggested that Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is a risk factor for gastric cancer. Long term surveillance of patients who have undergone gastric cancer screening, using gastric endoscopy and serum H. pylori-IgG antibody tests, suggested that the H. pylori-IgG antibody positive tests group constitutes a high risk group for gastric cancer and the negative group is a low risk group. On the other hand, we previously reported that the serum pepsinogen tests, as a primary screening tool for gastric cancer, are more cost effective than barium X-ray mass screening. Annual barium X-ray mass screening is conventional and useful in Japan, but many patients tend to dislike undergoing the barium X-ray mass screening. If we used the serum pepsinogen and H. pylori-IgG antibody tests as primary screening tools, we could manage barium X-ray mass screening more effectively. We propose a new method for gastric cancer screening : Only the high risk group, who are pepsinogen positive and H. pylori-IgG antibody positive should undergo annual barium X-ray mass screening, the low risk group, who are pepsinogen negative and H. pylori-IgG antibody negative, should undergo the barium X-ray mass screening at intervals of greater than a year. This strategy has not proven in practical terms, that a well designed epidemiological study is necessary to demonstrate the efficiency of this new method. |
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