Gastric cancer prevention policy

Jennifer Minhon Yeh

Gastric cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths, with over 65% of all cases occurring in developing countries. Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection is the most important risk factor for gastric cancer and estimated to be responsible for 65 to 80% of all cases. Clinical trials suggest Hp treatment reduces disease progression, but the effectiveness of treatment to reduce long term outcomes, such as gastric cancer mortality, is uncertain. To assess the economic and population impacts of Hp screening, we developed a comprehensive simulation model of gastric cancer. In Chapter 1, we describe the development and calibration of a natural history model of gastric cancer in the two high-risk countries of China and Colombia. Using a likelihood-based calibration approach, we identified multiple parameter sets that provided model outcomes consistent with epidemiological data on...