III. Differential Diagnosis

III. Differential Diagnosis

1. Ulcer disease: Can be differentiated through barium meal X-ray, gastroscopy, and other examinations. However, ulcerative gastric cancer may still be missed, requiring biopsy for confirmation.

2. Chronic gastritis: Erosive chronic gastritis and atrophic gastritis with intestinal metaplasia need to be distinguished from gastric cancer, mainly through pathological biopsy to check for atypical hyperplasia (dysplasia).

3. Gastric polyps and sarcomas: Protruding-type gastric cancer needs to be differentiated from polyps and sarcomas, mainly through histopathological examination for definitive diagnosis.

Section 3: Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine Treatment

The therapeutic outcomes for gastric cancer are currently unsatisfactory. Early diagnosis and early radical surgery for gastric cancer are essential, along with complementary use of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and traditional Chinese medicine—integrated comprehensive therapies combining TCM and Western medicine.

Integrated TCM-Western medicine treatment of malignant tumors is a unique approach distinctive to China and different from foreign practices. Both TCM and Western medicine have their own strengths in treating gastric cancer, but both also have shortcomings and limitations. For example, Western medical treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy aim to eliminate the tumor itself, but often damage healthy tissues in the process. Clinically, it is common to see patients who, after undergoing these treatments, have their tumors removed but are left physically weakened, or even unable to continue treatment because their overall health has deteriorated. This situation arises because radiotherapy and chemotherapy have strong toxicity and side effects, suppressing various systems throughout the body, leading to anemia, decreased immune function, and reduced resistance. Effects on the gastrointestinal tract, liver, and kidneys include loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, hepatitis, and nephritis. While TCM and herbal medicines have weaker tumor-killing effects, they excel at holistic regulation, using methods such as tonifying vital energy and strengthening the root, soothing the liver and regulating qi, to mitigate the toxic side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, improve anemia, boost immunity, regulate the intestines and stomach, protect the liver and kidneys, and thus ensure the smooth progress of Western medical treatment, playing a positive role in “reducing toxicity and enhancing efficacy.” In addition, TCM can improve the resistance of cancer cells to chemotherapy drugs, increasing their sensitivity. The combination of TCM and Western medicine complements each other, prolongs survival, improves quality of life, and reduces patient suffering. According to statistics, the completion rate of treatment courses using integrated TCM-Western medicine is between 70% and 90%, with significantly reduced toxicity and side effects compared to cases treated solely with chemotherapy and radiotherapy.