BACKGROUND
Gastric Cancer is the fifth neoplasia with the highest incidence worldwide and the fourth with the highest mortality. Its geographical distribution is not homogeneous: there are high risk areas, intermediate risk areas and low-risk areas. The advanced stage at diagnosis and the aggressiveness of the disease lead to an age-standardized 5-year survival rate of only 20 to 40%. On opposite side, early gastric cancer has an excellent prognosis. Therefore, early detection greatly increases the chances of successful treatment. In intermediate risk countries, several studies have been developed to determine the relevance of screening and how it could be developed. However most Western Societies continue to recommend screen only in selected populations with high-risk factors for gastric cancer. Furthermore, we found that there are no systematic reviews on gastric cancer endoscopic screening in intermediate risk countries.
OBJECTIVE
Determine the effectiveness (benefits and harms) of endoscopic screening for gastric cancer in intermediate risk countries (Helicobacter pylori detection rate; detection rate of pre-cancer lesions; detection rate of early gastric cancer; mortality rate of gastric cancer; 5-year survival rate of gastric cancer;
METHODS
This protocol follow the PRISMA-P recommendations. We will carry out a systematic review of the literature, searching 3 electronic databases MEDLINE, EMBASE and Web Of Science. To capture additional studies, manual searches will be carried out. The eligibility criteria are: studies performed in humans, whose title or abstract contains the search descriptors in the databases consulted;randomized controlled trials (RCTs), non-randomized controlled trials, cohort studies, case-control studies, cross-sectional studies, economic studies; Studies published as a full article, until 2024. Two independent reviewers will screening the title and abstract of all search results. The selected studies will then be fully analyzed and the data will be collected and coded in a database. If possible, a meta-analysis will be carried out.
RESULTS
The author will look for the following outcomes: Intermediate risk countries with established endoscopic screening for gastric cancer; Results of endoscopic screening programs;Cost-effectiveness analysis of endoscopic screening programs for gastric cancer.
CONCLUSIONS
This systematic review will be conducted with the aim of evaluating the effectiveness of endoscopic gastric cancer screening in intermediate-risk countries. In this way, we believe we will contribute to expanding knowledge in this area and support future decisions to implement endoscopic screening in this type of population.
CLINICALTRIAL
PROSPERO: CRD42024502174