Hospital acclaimed for gastric cancer screening programMATSU SUCCESS: ‘Gut,’ a leading medical journal, used images of Taiwan on the front cover of its issue this month to highlight the contributions of NTUHBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterA gastric cancer screening and treatment program by National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) in Matsu has successfully reduced the gastric cancer incidence rate in the archipelago by 53 percent in 14 years. Gastric cancer is the fifth-most common cancer and the third-biggest cause of cancer deaths worldwide. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has predicted that the number of gastric cancer patients would continue to grow in the next 30 years due to the aging population. NTUH superintendent Wu Ming-shiang (吳明賢) said that the hospital last year held a global consensus meeting on H. pylori screening and gastric cancer prevention, and participants produced 26 guidelines for gastric cancer prevention based on the scientific evidence from the hospital’s study in Matsu. People 50 years or older with a family history of gastric cancer should undergo an H. pylori screening with their regular gastroscopy, Liou said, adding that eradicating H. pylori infection can prevent gastric cancer.

Source: Taipei Times December 15, 2020 15:56 UTC