Contribution of new methods at the diagnosis of gastric cancer

Abstract

A retrospective clinical study is performed on 416 patients with advanced gastric cancer, admitted at the Hospital Pasteur during a 25-year period. The results obtained with surgery were poor, even with an aggressive surgery, when the diagnosis was done in a late stage. The authors propase the diagnosis and treatment in earlier stages as the only means to improve the prognosis. Diagnosis of incipient gastric cancer becomes an urgent need, and it is possible at present with a clinical-roentgenologic-endoscopic tripod. First of all, the disease must be clinically suspected until fundamented proofs to the contrary are presented, When gastric cancer is still limited to the mucosa, it gives rise to symptoms which do not differ at ali from conmon dyspepsia. Radioscopic and X-ray controls are required, and they must be complemented with double contrast techniques, using modern equipment. And in the presence of the minimal clinical-roentgenologic suspicion, fiberoptio gastroscopy with biopsy must be performed, without forgetting that the early neoplastic lesions may improve from the clinical and roentgenologic point of view with a medical treatment.