Abstract
During about thirty years, from April 1969 to December 1999, we experienced 2, 987 cases of gastric cancer, hospitalized in the surgical department of Tsuchiura Kyodo General Hospital.
Clinical and pathological observations revealed that the most important factor to improve the post-operative survival is to diagnose and treat as soon as possible, regardless of patients' subjective symptoms.
We divided our gastric cancer cases into three categories. Category one: those who visited our hospital with some abdominal symptoms. Category two: those who were checked by indirect radiography in gastric mass screening. Category three: those who were examined by direct gastric radiography or gastric fiberscopy, as a part of total health check-up, or during following-up of other diseases than stomach trouble.
The results were as follows. In category one, total operated patients were 1, 994, those who died were 1, 218, and those who died of gastric cancer were 985 (49.4% of operated cases). In category two, total operated patients were 517, those who died were 118, and those who died of gastric cancer were 86 people (16.6%). In category three, total operated patients were 449, those who died were 117, and only 53 patients (11.8%) died of gastric cancer.
It became clear that to get gastric examination radiologically or endoscopically before any abdominal symptoms appear, is critically beneficial to avoid deaths by gastric cancer.
