Doctors should soon be able to diagnose stomach cancer with 100 per cent accuracy.
That's the prediction Of Dr. C. Wiimer Wirts of Philadelphia* president of the American Gastroscopic Society.
He said the newest diagnostic' technique—examination of cells j shed from the lining of the stomach—permits accurate findings in about 95 per cent of the cases.
The AGS president said this exfoliative examination is performed with a tube into the stomach. The cells are washed out and examined under the microscope. Best Tool
"Our most important tool, of] course, is still the gastroscope,"! Dr. Wirts said in an interview. "The gastroscope is an instrument which resembles a periscope, and it can be used for looking into the stomach."
The newest type of gastro-: scope, he said, photographs and takes moving pictures of the inside of the stomach. It can also be used to take biopsies.
"In a gastroscopic biopsy," Dr. Wirts explained, .".a small piece of tissue Is removed from the inside of the stomach. This saves the patient from having to undergo exploratory surgery.'*
Dr. Wirts presided over a one-day meeting of the society yesterday at Louisiana State university medical school.
It was a forerunner to the 61st annual meeting of the American Gastroscopic Association opening tomorrow at the Roosevelt hotel. 80 Per Cent Accurate
The visiting physician said that although X-ray is still the tool used most frequently in cancer detection, it is only about 80 per cent accurate when used alone.
"A fold in the stomach may hide the cancer," he said. "That's why you have to combine all methods.
"By combining X-ray, washing out the cells and peering into the stomach with the gastroscope, we should get so we won't miss a single case."
Laboratory experiments are now being carrried on to perfect a flexible, fiberglas gastroscope which will permit ex-' animation, not only of the stomach, bnt the lining membrane of the entire intestinal tract, he said.
Dr. Wirts said this flexible gastroscope "should prove highly important."
He said he is sure medical men will eventually discover that "the small intestine is far more important as a site of disease, particualrly diseases resulting from faulty nutrition.
Cautions on Tension
The AGS president said gastro-' intestinal disease could be reduced if people lived a life of moderation and avoided excessive tension. ;
Doctors can do their part, he said, by prescribing appropriate sedatives and tranquilizers, and by advising their patients.
The patient, he added, should be made aware of the importance of proper diet.
"He should eat well-balanced meals with lots of fruits and vegetables," Dr. Wirts said. "But he shouldn't overeat.
"Most important, he should cut out drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes on an empty stomach. This interferes with the normal function of the lining of the stomach and intestines."
