Potential benefits of one‑time gastroscopy in search for precancerous conditions

Precancerous conditions for esophageal (EA) and gastric adenocarcinoma (GA) are Barrett's esophagus (BE) and atrophic gastritis (AG), respectively. Their surveillance is crucial for the detection of early lesions.

The study aimed to assess whether one‑timeesophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) in search for precancerous conditions would be effective in the population with low‑to‑moderate esophageal and gastric cancer risk.

A total of 5984 individuals who underwent diagnostic EGD in 3 endoscopic centers, from March 2018 to October 2019, were analyzed to assess the age of occurrence of precancerous conditions and cancers. Age distribution of the patients with malignant gastric and esophageal tumors registered in the national cancer registry from 2014 to 2017 was analyzed.

In comparison with individuals below 40 years old, the risk of EA and GA diagnosis increased at the age of 60 to 64 years (odds ratio [OR], 12.1; 95% CI, 1.5-98.6), gastric and esophageal dysplasia at the age of 55 to 59 years (OR, 3.6; 95% CI, 1.3-9.7), and BE and AG at the age of 40 to 44 years (OR, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.04-2.4). The number of procedures per 1 cancer that could be potentially avoided was 236, 235, 290, 360, 394, and 344 for the age groups of 40-44 years, 45-49 years, 50-54 years, 55-59 years, 60-64 years, and 65-69 years, respectively. The assessed potential benefit‑to‑harm ratio was 47, 38, 31, 28, and 32 for the age groups of 40-49 years, 50-54 years, 55-59 years, 60-64 years, and 65-69 years, respectively.

One‑time EGD in search for precancerous conditions could be potentially applicable in individuals between 40 and 69 years of age.