| Theme |
Gastric Cancer Screening -- Present Status and Uprising High-risk Strategy |
| Title |
Practical Method of Screening for Gastric Cancer Using Serum Pepsinogen |
| Author |
Masaharu Yoshihara |
Health Service Center, Hiroshima Universit |
| Author |
Masanori Ito |
Department of Medicine and Molecular Science, Hiroshima University |
| Author |
Toru Hiyama |
Health Service Center, Hiroshima Universit |
| Author |
Shigeto Yoshida |
Department of Endoscopy, Hiroshima University Hospital |
| Author |
Shunsuke Takata |
Department of Medicine and Molecular Science, Hiroshima University |
| Author |
Shinji Tanaka |
Department of Endoscopy, Hiroshima University Hospital |
| [ Summary ] |
A practical method of gastric cancer screening employing the serum pepsinogen (PG-method) is reviewed Gastric cancer has been reported to be related to atrophic gastritis in which serum pepsinogen (PG) I levels and PG I / PG II ratios (I / II ratio) are reduced. In relation to PG methods, subjects in whom the PG I level is below 70 μg / liter and the PG I / II ratio is below 3.0 are considered to have atrophic gastritis, indicating a high risk for gastric cancer. There patients should receive further examinations through gastrointestinal endoscopy. Moreover, the addition of X-ray methods is more effective because of their high sensitivity in gastric cancer detection. Subjects with low PG levels should receive precise examinations regularly (once every 1 or 2 years). Special caution is required for subjects who have been treated for Helicobacter pylori eradication because of false negatives produced by the PG-method or morphological diagnosis. |