With the developing and innovating of medical service level, the diagnosis methods for diseases are increasing. There are various methods to diagnose gastric cancer while the following methods can effectively diagnose it, systematically evaluating patient’s condition so as to better choose treatment.

Diagnosis Methods of Gastric Cancer

1. Endoscopy: it is also called fibergastroscopy, which is very important to the diagnosis of early gastric cancers. Endoscopy can help detect early gastric cancer, identify the benign and malignant ulcers and determine types of gastric cancer as well as infiltrating range of lesions. It has certain significance for regular follow-up and monitoring of patients with precancerous lesions.

2. X-ray: the result will be different for gastric cancer in different stages. Generally for the early stage of gastric cancer, X-ray can show that cancer cells are only confined to the mucosa and submucosa. While in the processing stages of gastric cancer, it can be showed that X ray signs are closely related to the types of gastric cancer.

3. CT scan: it can clearly show whether cancer cells have invaded gastric wall and the range that cancer cells grow inside and outside the gastric wall, and whether there are metastases, besides, CT scan may also show whether gastric cancer has spread through blood channels.

4. Endoscopic ultrasound: this is a very new diagnostic technique. When diagnosing, it can directly see every layer of stomach, the overall picture of tumor. Endoscopic ultrasound helps to diagnose gastric cancer and its TNM staging.

Gastroscopy Is Not That Uncomfortable

When patients go to hospital due to indigestion, doctors will often require the patient to undergo gastroscopy. Some patients will hesitate because they fear that gastroscopy will bring discomfort. In recent years, the quality of endoscopic mirror is constantly improving, becoming more delicate and easier to maneuverable. Furthermore, undergone by an experienced doctor, the majority of patients only feel mild discomfort. Generally, skilled physicians only need 3-5 minutes to complete a gastroscopy and with complicated conditions, it will rarely exceed 10 minutes. Therefore, the majority of patients are able to accept the examination. Gastroscopy generally does not cause pain but feeling nausea and having difficulty in breathing. Due to the patient's fear and reflection when endoscope inserts into esophagus through pharynx, the majority of patients will temporarily hold their breath, which is like a person who can't swim dropping into water pool, will stop breathing spontaneously. Patients begin to breathe until they cannot hold on, causing nausea. Therefore, the key to undergo gastroscopy smoothly is that patients do not hold breathe and regulate breath on balance.

Capsule Endoscopy Easily Check Stomach Diseases

Modern Cancer Hospital Guangzhou introduces capsule endoscopy which can help patients easily check stomach. Patients only need to swallow a special "capsule", thus will avoid all the discomfort. With the development of medical technology, capsule endoscopy has been applied widely in clinic. Diagnosing level for unexplained gastrointestinal bleeding, abdominal pain has been greatly improved.

“Capsule endoscopy" is shortened from “intelligent capsule gastrointestinal endoscopy system". Patients only need to orally take a intelligent capsule with water, and then the capsule will move along stomach - duodenum - jejunum and ileum - colon - rectum through the peristalsis of gastrointestinal muscles, which seems like doing a whole-process "gastrointestinal photographer" and then transmits the images by digital signals to a recording device carried by patient, thus doctor can make a timely diagnosis through the captured image. The whole process takes about 8 to 10 hours and patients can leave hospital working during this period. Patients only need to send the recorder back and doctors will check the condition of esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine according to nearly 80000 photographs. To the end of this task, the capsule will be excreted with feces.

Capsule endoscopy replaces the gastrointestinal examinations such as traditional gastroscopy and barium meal. On the one hand, it can avoid physical pain caused by examinations, on the other hand, it also has solved the problem that has been regarded as a check blind area --5-7 meters of small intestine, because the current enteroscope technique can only check large intestine but cannot see small intestine. While by using this "intelligent capsule", many of the early small bowel diseases can be found in advance and then get early treatment.

Diagnosis methods and techniques of diseases are also very important. Accurate test can decrease the rate of misdiagnosis, helping patients accurately choose reasonable treatment options according to their condition, so as to better improve the treatment effect of gastric cancer.