--- title: "Dr. Jun ZHOU: Taking Charge of Your Health - A Practical Guide to Gastrointestinal Cancer" url: "https://www.yyhmedical.com/en/news/gastrointestinal-cancer-early-screening-treatment" type: Article inLanguage: en-US category: Expert Insights datePublished: 2026-04-29 --- # Dr. Jun ZHOU: Taking Charge of Your Health - A Practical Guide to Gastrointestinal Cancer > Dr. Jun ZHOU of Shanghai GoBroad Cancer Hospital emphasizes the importance of gastroscopy and colonoscopy for early detection of gastrointestinal cancers and discusses recent advances in targeted therapy and immunotherapy for gastric cancer. Summary: Dr. Jun ZHOU, Deputy Medical Director and Director of Gastrointestinal Oncology at Shanghai GoBroad Cancer Hospital, Affiliated to China Pharmaceutical University, explains why early screening, diagnosis, and treatment matter in gastrointestinal cancers. Gastroscopy and colonoscopy can help detect early gastric and colorectal cancers before obvious symptoms appear, and patients with stage I disease generally have more treatment options and better long-term outcomes after appropriate care. For locally advanced or metastatic gastric cancer, treatment has expanded beyond chemotherapy to include targeted therapies against HER2, CLDN18.2, FGFR2b, c-MET, and other targets, while immunotherapy-based combinations continue to broaden treatment possibilities for different groups of patients. Cancer rarely appears completely out of the blue. In many cases, there is a window of opportunity in which screening and early detection can make a meaningful difference. For gastrointestinal cancers in particular, gastroscopy and colonoscopy can help identify early lesions before clear symptoms develop. When symptoms do appear, the disease may already be locally advanced or metastatic, but that does not mean treatment options have run out. Advances in chemotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, and other approaches are giving patients more ways to manage disease at different stages. Dr. Jun ZHOU, Deputy Medical Director and Director of Gastrointestinal Oncology at Shanghai GoBroad Cancer Hospital, Affiliated to China Pharmaceutical University, shares practical guidance on screening, diagnosis, and treatment. **Q1: Why are gastroscopy and colonoscopy so important for early detection of gastrointestinal cancers?** Dr. Jun ZHOU: As Cancer Prevention and Control Awareness Week approaches, it is worth emphasizing three key principles in cancer care: early screening, early diagnosis, and early treatment. Screening is especially important for gastrointestinal cancers. Gastroscopy and colonoscopy are commonly used examinations that can help detect early gastric and colorectal cancers even when a person has no obvious symptoms. In China, gastric cancer ranks fifth in incidence among malignant tumors and third in cancer-related mortality. Early gastric lesions detected through gastroscopy are often stage I or II and may be treated with endoscopic procedures or surgery, depending on the individual case. Patients with stage I disease generally have a relatively high 5-year survival rate after appropriate treatment. This is why timely screening, diagnosis, and treatment can make such an important difference. **Q2: By the time gastric cancer causes obvious symptoms, what stage is it usually at? What treatment options may still be available?** Dr. Jun ZHOU: When patients first seek care because of clear symptoms, the disease is often already at a locally advanced or metastatic stage. Common symptoms can include upper abdominal discomfort, nausea or vomiting, a sensation of food sticking when swallowing, or signs of obstruction. Some patients may also develop symptoms related to distant metastases, such as abnormal liver function with liver involvement or bone pain with bone metastases. In these situations, systemic treatment can still play an important role. Perioperative or conversion treatment may help shrink or downstage the tumor in some patients, making surgery possible even when it was not an option at the initial assessment. For selected patients, this can help improve overall outcomes. **Q3: What are some of the latest treatment advances for locally advanced or metastatic gastric cancer?** Dr. Jun ZHOU: If treatment cannot convert the disease to a stage where surgery is feasible, long-term, guideline-based systemic therapy can still help patients control the disease and improve survival. Chemotherapy remains an important foundation of treatment, but today's options extend well beyond chemotherapy alone. Gastric cancer treatment has increasingly moved into the era of targeted therapy and immunotherapy. Research that began with HER2 more than two decades ago has expanded to other targets, including CLDN18.2, FGFR2b, and c-MET. A growing number of drugs directed at these and other targets have been studied in gastric cancer. Therapies targeting HER2 and CLDN18.2 are now increasingly used or studied, including monoclonal antibodies and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). Immunotherapy has also become an important part of gastric cancer treatment, and CAR-T cell therapy is being actively explored in this field. Clinical experience and ongoing research suggest that combinations such as immunotherapy plus chemotherapy or targeted therapy may offer additional possibilities for improving outcomes in selected patients. *Cancer prevention and treatment are not a single step, but a continuum of early detection, timely intervention, and evidence-based care. Screening can help identify disease at an earlier, more treatable stage. Even when cancer is diagnosed at a later stage, standardized systemic therapy, evolving targeted and immune-based treatments, and carefully selected combination strategies can still offer meaningful opportunities to control disease and improve outcomes. The most important message for patients and families is to take screening seriously, seek medical evaluation when needed, and make treatment decisions together with an experienced clinical team.* --- Original (HTML):https://www.yyhmedical.com/en/news/gastrointestinal-cancer-early-screening-treatment This is a clean Markdown mirror for large language models; the original page is authoritative.