Results of endoscopy in 35,525 patients with precancerous diseases of the gastrointestinal tract

Background: To explore the need for the high-risk and general population to undergo endoscopy and the best age for these two groups to do so.

Material and methods: Data on 35,525 patients who underwent endoscopy in the Endoscopic Center of Shanxi Cancer Hospital and associated medical group hospitals from January 2016 to December 2019 were collected. Two aspects of the high-risk and general population were analyzed retrospectively: 1. The detection rate of precancerous diseases. 2. The difference and distribution of the detection rate in different genders, different ages, and different pathologic types.

Results: A total of 35,525 patients, 24,185 in the general population and 11,340 in the high-risk population, were examined by electronic gastroscopy and colonoscopy simultaneously. Of these, 20,659 were men and 14,866 were women. The detection rate of gastric diseases (gastric cancer, gastric polyp, gastric ulcer, chronic atrophic gastritis) in the general population was 9.27%, and that in the high-risk population was 25.18%. The detection rate of colonic polyps was 53.76% in the general population and 56.77% in the high-risk population.

Conclusion: Both the high-risk and the general population should consider gastroscopy and colonoscopy as routine physical examination items. Routine gastroscopy is highly recommended for the high-risk population. The general population should pay close attention to their colonoscopy results. The best screening age for both populations is 40 years old and above.