Differential diagnosis of ulcerative gastric cancer and gastric ulcer

Since early gastric cancer has no specific symptoms and signs, and its clinical manifestations are similar to gastric ulcers, many patients often mistake gastric cancer for ulcers or chronic gastritis, missing the best time for treatment. The differential diagnosis of ulcerative gastric cancer and gastric ulcer can be distinguished from the following aspects:

1. Gastric cancer is more common in middle-aged people, while gastric ulcers mostly occur in young people.

2. Clinical manifestations: The pain of gastric cancer is often irregular, and the abdominal pain can be acute or slow. At first, it is only upper abdominal distension and discomfort, which is worse after meals, followed by dull pain and discomfort, and occasionally rhythmic ulcer-like pain, but this pain cannot be relieved by eating or taking antacids. It is often accompanied by poor appetite, anorexia, weight loss, and poor or ineffective effects of antacids and anti-ulcer treatments; while the pain of gastric ulcer is a chronic process, with periodic attacks, alternating attacks and spontaneous relief, and rhythmic upper abdominal pain, which can be relieved after eating or taking antacids, and antacids or anti-ulcer treatments are more effective.

3. Occult blood in stool: The stool occult blood test of patients with gastric cancer is often persistently positive. Even after general medical treatment, the occult blood is not easy to disappear; while the stool occult blood test of patients with gastric ulcer is positive in the active stage, and can turn negative after treatment.

4. Blood picture: Anemia in patients with gastric cancer is not easy to correct after treatment, especially in the late stage with multiple metastases, which affects the hematopoietic function of the bone marrow and can cause aplastic anemia, while anemia in patients with gastric ulcer can be corrected after treatment.

5. ESR: The ESR of patients with gastric cancer increases due to the deterioration of their general condition, while that of patients with gastric ulcer is generally normal.

6. Gastric juice analysis: The gastric juice analysis of patients with gastric cancer is low in acid or no acid, while the gastric juice analysis of patients with gastric ulcer is normal or low.