More than 2,000 people die of stomach cancer every year in Taiwan, and as Helicobacter pylori infection is a strong risk factor, people should avoid sharing food and utensils, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) said.
Stomach cancer is the eighth-most common and deadliest cancer in Taiwan.
More than 4,000 people are diagnosed with stomach cancer every year, while more than 2,000 people with it die, data shows.
Photo: CNA
H. pylori is a major risk factor for stomach cancer, as it is linked to 80 to 90 percent of stomach cancer cases, the HPA said in a statement.
Maintaining good lifestyle habits and reducing the risk of H. pylori infection could greatly decrease the risk of developing stomach cancer, it said.
The risk of stomach cancer in people with H. pylori infection is about six to 10 times higher than others, and the WHO in 1994 classified H. pylori as a Group 1 carcinogen, it said.
H. pylori could cause chronic gastritis and ulcers, and long-term inflammation of the stomach lining could lead to the destruction of gastric glands and gastric mucosal atrophy, resulting in the precancerous condition of gastric intestinal metaplasia and eventually stomach cancer, it said.
H. pylori is mainly transmitted from person to person through the fecal-oral route, but it could also be transmitted through saliva, it said, adding that sharing food and utensils, and drinking from the same cup with someone infected could increase infection risk.
People could take a C-13 urea breath test, H. pylori stool antigen (HpSA) test, or a gastroscopy to check whether they are infected, it said.
The agency in August last year said it launched a trial program in nine administrative regions offering a free HpSA test to people aged 45 to 74.
The program has been expanded to 17 administrative regions this year, so people who would like to get the test can ask a local health facility about its availability, it said.
HPA Director-General Wu Chao-chun (吳昭軍) said people should protect their gut health by eating healthy food, practicing good hygiene, doing exercise regularly, avoiding smoking and drinking alcohol, and seeing a doctor if they develop gastrointestinal symptoms.
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