Stomach Cancer

Overview

Cancer that forms in tissues lining the stomach is called stomach cancer or gastric cancer. In the last sixty years or so, the incidence of stomach cancer has dramatically declined both in the United States and in Western Europe as well, but this is still a serious problem in rest of the world. Stomach cancer is one of the most likely of the cancers to kill, not only because it is difficult to diagnose, but also because of the havoc that it can wreak on the body, especially when it spreads to other vital organs in the body.

Types

The most common type of stomach cancers is adenocarcinomas, which originate in the stomach lining's glandular cells. Although the adenocarcinomas account for nearly 95 percent of all incidences of stomach cancer, there are other types of stomach cancer such as lymphomas, gastrointestinal stromal tumors or GISTs and carcinoid tumors.

Symptoms

Stomach cancer can be treated when it is caught early. Unfortunately catching it early is not always possible. Unfortunately by the time stomach cancer begins to show symptoms, it has typically already spread to other organs and parts of the body. One of the earliest signs of the development of stomach cancer is internal bleeding on a microscopic level. Regrettably, this can only be detected through medical tests that are designed to detect traces of blood in your stool. If you loose too many of your healthy red blood cells as a result of this bleeding, you may also experience tiredness or weakness. Other symptoms associated with early stomach cancer include abdominal pain and heart burn, but these symptoms can be mistaken for other underlying causes in many cases.

Causes/Risk Factors

The stomach is a muscular sac that is located in the middle of the abdomen. It is responsible for mixing the food that you consume with acids and enzymes in order to break the food down. This acidic mix is too strong for the delicate tissues lining the stomach, so thick mucous coats the stomach lining to separate them. Healthy cells in the stomach are meant to grow in a very specific way, but if the DNA that governs the cells growth and reproduction is damaged, it results in the growth of a group of malignant cells or a stomach tumor.

The development of stomach cancer is linked to two major causes that include infections from H.pylori or the helicobacter pylori bacteria and diets that are rich in highly salted, pickled and smoked foods.

Tests/Diagnosis

There are a number of different diagnostic tests that can be recommended in order to diagnose stomach cancer, as well as to rule out other potential problems. Some of these diagnostic tests include an upper endoscopy, stomach X-rays or barium upper GI series, endoscopic ultrasound, computerized tomography scan or CT scan, magnetic resonance imaging scan, or MRI scan, and a chest x-ray.

Treatment

The type of treatment that you receive for stomach cancer is going to depend on a number of factors including the size, location, advancement of the tumor and your overall health and personal preferences. Some of the stomach cancer treatment options are surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy or radiotherapy, the use of antibiotics, targeted drug therapy and clinical trial drug therapy.