Abstract
This center has allowed the examinees to choose between direct radiography and endoscopy since 1996. The percentage of examinees choosing endoscopy was 12.0% in 1996, and more than 75% from 2000 onward. The detection rate of gastro-esophageal cancer by endoscopy was 0.39%, which was higher than the 0.15% achieved by direct radiography. The cost of detecting a case of gastroesophageal cancer by endoscopy was 3,371 thousand yen, which was less than the 5, 175 thousand yen for direct radiography. The improvement of the pre-examination procedures and the use of an ultra-thin endoscope has allowed safer, less-invasive endoscopic screening. In particular, transnasal examination has permitted endoscopic screening which is safer and stress-free for the examinees. Almost all examinees undergoing oral and transnasal examinations wanted to undergo transnasal examination the next time if required, and 90% of the examinees reported that transnasal endoscopy was more comfortable than gastric radiography. Transnasal examination is expected to play a major role in endoscopic screening from now on.
