Stomach cancer represents a major public health challenge with 1.1 million new annual cases according to thePasteur Institute. This disease remains particularly formidable, with A healing rate of around 25 % at the time of diagnosis, despite recent medical advances.
Faced with this alarming reality, scientific research focuses on identifying avoidable risk factors to improve prevention. And precisely, one of them was discovered. It is a bacteria, which man obtains, from childhood.
Helicobacter pylori It is even today to the point of being considered as the number one manager of this cancer. This infection, often asymptomatic for decades, settles in the gastric mucosa where it gradually causes inflammatory lesions likely to evolve towards malignancy.
Disturbing projections for the future
The International Center for Cancer Research conducted an ambitious prospective study, analyzing the expected evolution of gastric cancers in generation born between 2008 et 2017. The results are edifying. Indeed, according to the first reports, 15.6 million new cases could thus be announced in the years to come if medicine does not evolve.
The geographic distribution of these projections also highlights significant disparities. According to this scientific report, the Asian continent is the first affected, with 10.6 million potential cases in the coming yearslargely ahead of the Americas with 2 million and Africa with 1.7 million.
To accessible and efficient prevention
The bacteria identified, however, it is possible to stop this machine. Thus, 76 % of future cases would be directly linked to infection by Helicobacter pylori and therefore theoretically avoidable.
Systematic screening and processing programs could prevent up to 75 % of gastric cancerswith less perfect, but realistic strategies to avoid 60 to 68 % of cases.
An approach that the scientific community wishes to preventive as much as possible. Because tests related to the bacteria in question do not cost much and could have an absolutely considerable human impact.
