The "yin and yang" distinction of gastric cancer helps individualized treatment of patients

Among the new cases of gastric cancer in the world each year, my country accounts for 40% of the new cases. Due to the hidden symptoms, most gastric cancer patients in my country are diagnosed in the middle and late stages, which makes treatment more difficult. In fact, we need to understand the difference between "yin and yang" of gastric cancer in order to better carry out individualized treatment. "Yin and yang" can be divided into two types of gastric cancer: HER2-negative and HER2-positive according to the detection of human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2 for short). Among them, HER2-positive is more difficult to treat and more likely to relapse.

HER2 detection rates in gastric cancer are very low

Gastric cancer patients should determine their HER2 status as early as possible. Accurate HER2 testing can provide a comprehensive understanding of the disease status and type, thereby helping doctors choose the best treatment plan, achieve effective individualized treatment, and prolong survival. Unfortunately, the current HER2 detection rate for gastric cancer is very low. Not only have gastric cancer patients never heard of HER2-positive gastric cancer, but some primary care doctors also don't know much about it, and further attention needs to be paid.

HER2-positive gastric cancer is more likely to recur and metastasize

Gastric cancer is divided into "yin and yang", that is, negative and positive according to the HER2 status. HER2 is the abbreviation of human epidermal growth factor receptor-2. In normal cells, HER2 sends growth signals from outside the cell to inside the cell, and these signals tell the cell to grow and divide. If a cancer patient overexpresses HER2, there will be too much HER2 protein on the surface of the cancer cells in the patient's cancer cells, which will stimulate the cancer cells to grow wildly, increase invasiveness, and relapse and metastasis relatively quickly.