[Diagnostic accuracy of upper gastrointestinal lesions and influencing factors among pathologists in rural cancer screening program from 2019 to 2023].

Objective: To analyze the diagnostic accuracy of upper gastrointestinal lesions and the influencing factors among the pathologists in the Upper Gastrointestinal Cancer Screening Program in Rural China from 2019 to 2023. Methods: The assessment questionnaires were created using pathological images of esophageal and gastric lesions. The "Early Diagnosis and Treatment" application was used as an examination platform. The multivariate ordinal logistic regression was used to analyze the factors influencing the examination score grade of esophageal and gastric lesions. Results: A total of 1 565 pathologists participated in the assessment, with an average age of (39.49±8.17) years and 39.74% being males. The average examination score for esophageal and gastric lesions was 71.29±11.49 and 78.47±11.72, respectively. The multivariate ordinal logistic regression revealed that pathologists with postgraduate degree (OR=1.87, 95%CI:1.30-2.70), undergraduate degree (OR=1.60, 95%CI:1.17-2.17), professional work with experience of 10-<15 years (OR=1.41, 95%CI:1.02-1.97), and participating in the program for ≥2 years (OR=1.90, 95%CI:1.53-2.36) had higher diagnostic accuracy of esophageal lesions, respectively. Pathologists with postgraduate degree (OR=2.09, 95%CI:1.67-2.61), undergraduate degree (OR=1.60, 95%CI:1.34-1.91), attending physicians (OR=1.26, 95%CI:1.07-1.48), participating in the program for ≥2 years (OR=1.20, 95%CI:1.06-1.35), and from western areas (OR=1.19, 95%CI:1.01-1.40) had higher diagnostic accuracy of gastric lesions, respectively. Conclusion: The pathologists basically acquire diagnostic skills of upper gastrointestinal lesions in the Upper Gastrointestinal Cancer Screening Program in Rural China. Education level, professional title, duration of the career, duration of participating in the program, and location are associated with the diagnostic accuracy of the pathologists.