Abstract
Since 2013, Takamatsu Hospital's Ningen Dock Center has determined the serum H. pylori antibody titer and measured pepsinogen levels in all individuals who undergo gastric cancer screening as part of a complete health examination. This screening is opportunistic. The Ningen Dock Center fully determines the individual's H. pylori infection status (current infection, past infection, or no previous infection). Analyzing background mucosa in stomach x-rays is the gold standard for determining H. pylori infection status. In 1,535 individuals, this technique had an accuracy of 91.4%, although it had a higher level of accuracy of 96.5% when not distinguishing between a current infection and a past infection. Dealing with an increase in uninfected individuals may present an issue in the future. This x-ray interpretation technique may also be suitable for population-based screening where only stomach x-rays are performed. When a screened individual is suspected of having H. pylori infection, eradication therapy should probably be considered for that individual. To promptly eliminate gastric cancer in the future, all gastric cancer screening systems need to be reconfigured to have H. pylori-associated Gastritis at their core.
