Objective  To evaluate the effectiveness of early diagnosis and treatment of upper digestive tract cancers in rural areas with low incidence of the cancers.

  Methods  Using cluster sampling, we recruited rural residents aged 40 – 69 years in two counties with lower upper digestive tract cancer incidence than the national level in Heilongjiang province for screening and treatment of the cancer from 2015 to 2019. Gastric endoscopy, iodine staining, and indicative biopsy were adopted in the screening. The effectiveness of the screening was evaluated by detection rate and early diagnosis rate.

  Results  During 2015 – 2019 among a total of 8 018 participants, 42 upper gastrointestinal cancer cases were detected (including 11 cases of carcinoma/in situ carcinoma of esophagus, 4 cases of cardia carcinoma, and 27 cases of carcinoma/in situ carcinoma of stomach) and the rate of early diagnosis for the four consecutive screenings was 56%, 33%, 31% and 45%, respectively. The detection rate increased with the increment of age among the participants. The cancer-related upper digestive tract lesions were retarded among the participants under follow-up treatment.

  Conclusion  Screening and follow-up treatment are effective in control and treatment of upper digestive tract cancers among residents in rural regions with low incidence of the cancers.