2005/07/01 by Manami Inoue, M Inoue, Shoichiro Tsugane +1 · 353 citations
Medicine · #Cancer #Demography #Developed country #Environmental health #Epidemiology #Gastric Cancer Management and Outcomes #Gastrointestinal disorders and treatments #Gerontology #Helicobacter pylori #Helicobacter pylori-related gastroenterology studies #Internal medicine #Medicine #Pathology #Population #Public health
paper · pdf · doi:10.1136/pgmj.2004.029330
published in Postgraduate Medical Journal 81(957), 419-424 (Oxford University Press)
openalex publication_date 2005/07/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Despite its decreasing trend in Japan, gastric cancer remains an important public health problem. Although the age standardised rates of gastric cancer have been declining for decades, the absolute numbers are increasing because of the rapid aging of the population. A large proportion of Japanese gastric cancers are detected at an early stage, with a better overall survival rate. As with Western developed countries, a change in the social environment such as reduced salt use and increased fresh vegetable and fruit intake as well as improvement of food storage may play an important part in the decline. Differences in Helicobacter pylori infection rates between generations presumably have contributed to the generation related variation in the declining trends. It is expected that most gastric cancers in Japan may be preventable by lifestyle modification such as salt reduction and increased fruit and vegetable intake, together with avoidance of smoking and countermeasures against H pylori infection so that the level now evident in Western developed countries can be reached.