Overview of stomach cancer
Cancer that originates in the stomach is called stomach cancer. Stomach cancer can affect nearby organs and lymph nodes. Stomach tumor can grow through the stomach's outer layer into organs surrounding and nearby stomach, such as the pancreas, esophagus, or intestine and through the blood to the liver, lungs, and other organs. Cancer cells may also spread through the lymphatic system to lymph nodes all over the body. When cancer spreads from its original place to another part of the body, the new tumor has the same kind of abnormal cells and the same name as the original tumor. For example, if stomach cancer spreads to the liver, the cancer cells in the liver are actually stomach cancer cells. The disease is metastatic stomach cancer, not liver cancer.
Causes of stomach cancer
Though one cannot single out a particular risk factor to be a sure and only cause of stomach cancer but the research has shown that people with certain risk factors are more likely than others to develop stomach cancer. A risk factor is something that may increase the chance of developing a disease.
Stomach cancer can be observed due to following risk factors:
Age: Old people are generally at risk of developing stomach cancer. Most people with this disease are 72 or older.
Sex: Surprisingly the gender is one of the risk factors in developing stomach cancer. Men are more likely than women to develop stomach cancer.
Race: Stomach cancer is more common in Asian, Pacific Islander, Hispanic, and African Americans than in non-Hispanic white Americans.
Diet: Studies suggest that people who eat a diet high in foods that are smoked, salted, or pickled may be at increased risk for stomach cancer. On the other hand, eating fresh fruits and vegetables may protect against this disease.
Helicobacter pylori infection: H. pylori is a type of bacteria that commonly lives in the stomach. H. pylori infection increases the risk of stomach inflammation and stomach ulcers. It also increases the risk of stomach cancer, but only a small number of infected people develop stomach cancer. Although infection increases the risk, cancer is not contagious. You cannot catch stomach cancer from another person who has it.
Smoking: Smoking is also a risk factor as people who smoke are more likely to develop stomach cancer in addition to lung cancer, the primary cancer associated with smoking.
Certain health problems: Stomach cancer can also be caused due to health conditions that cause inflammation or other problems in the stomach. These maybe:
Stomach surgery
Chronic gastritis
Pernicious anemia
Family history: A rare type of stomach cancer runs in some families.
Existence of one or more of these risk factors does not guarantee that a person will suffer from stomach cancer. On the other hand people who don’t have any of the above mentioned risk factors are also found to suffer from stomach cancer. Most people who have known risk factors do not develop stomach cancer. For example, many people have H. pylori in their stomach but never develop cancer. On the other hand, people who do develop the disease sometimes have no known risk factors.
Symptoms of stomach cancer
Most cancers often don’t show any early signs of stomach cancer. As the cancer grows, the most common symptoms of stomach cancer are:
Pain and discomfort in the stomach area.
Feeling full after a small meal.
Nausea and vomiting
Weight loss
These symptoms may also occur due to general stomach infections and it can’t be said for sure that these are prevalent due to presence of cancer. However these symptoms do occur if a person has cancer. Most often, these symptoms are not due to cancer. Other health problems, such as an ulcer or infection, can cause the same symptoms. Anyone with these symptoms should tell the doctor so that problems can be found and treated as early as possible.
Diagnosis of stomach caner
Taking the personal and family health history into account a physician may ask for blood or other lab tests. The list of tests may include:
Physical exam: In this general exam a doctor checks the patient’s abdomen for fluid, swelling, or other changes. Lymph nodes are checked for any signs of swelling and skin and eyes are checked if they seem yellow.
Upper GI series
Endoscopy
Biopsy
Blood tests: The lab does a complete blood count to check for anemia. Blood tests also show how well your liver is working.
Chest x-ray: An x-ray machine takes pictures of your lungs. The doctor can then study these pictures on film. Tumors in your lungs can show up on the x-ray.
CT scan
Endoscopic ultrasound
Laparoscopy
Stages of stomach cancer:
Stage 0: The cancer is found only in the inner layer of the stomach. It is carcinoma in situ.
Stage I is one of the following:The tumor has invaded only the submucosa. Cancer cells have not spread to lymph nodes or other organs.
Stage II is one of the following:The tumor has invaded only the submucosa. Cancer cells have spread to 7 to 15 lymph nodes. Or, the tumor has invaded the muscle layer. Cancer cells have spread to 1 to 6 lymph nodes. Or, the tumor has penetrated the outer layer of the stomach. Cancer cells have not spread to lymph nodes or other organs.
Stage III is one of the following:The tumor has invaded the muscle layer. Cancer cells have spread to 7 to 15 lymph nodes. Or, the tumor has penetrated the outer layer. Cancer cells have spread to 1 to 15 lymph nodes. Or, the tumor has invaded nearby organs, such as the liver or spleen. Cancer cells have not spread to lymph nodes or to distant organs.
Stage IV is one of the following:Cancer cells have spread to more than 15 lymph nodes. Or, the tumor has invaded nearby organs and at least 1 lymph node. Or, cancer cells have spread to distant organs.
Recurrent cancer: The cancer has come back (recurred) after a period of time when it could not be detected. It may recur in the stomach or in another part of the body.
Treatment of stomach cancer
The size and location of the tumor, the stage of disease and the patient’s general health decides the treatment course. Treatment for stomach cancer may involve surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy. Many people have more than one type of treatment.
Cancer treatment is either local therapy or systemic therapy:
Local therapy: Surgery and radiation therapy are local therapies. They remove or destroy cancer in or near the stomach. If stomach cancer has spread to other parts of the body, local therapy may be used to control the disease in those specific areas.
Systemic therapy: Chemotherapy is systemic therapy. The drug enters the bloodstream and destroys or controls cancer throughout the body.
Surgery
Surgery is the most common treatment for stomach cancer. The extent to which the cancer has developed governs the type of surgery to take place. There are two main types of stomach cancer surgery:
Partial (subtotal) gastrectomy: The surgeon removes the part of the stomach with cancer. The surgeon also may remove part of the esophagus or part of the small intestine. Nearby lymph nodes and other tissues may be removed.
Total gastrectomy: The doctor removes the entire stomach, nearby lymph nodes, parts of the esophagus and small intestine, and other tissues near the tumor. The spleen also may be removed. The surgeon then connects the esophagus directly to the small intestine. The surgeon makes a new "stomach" out of tissue from the intestine.
A strict dietary control needs to be exercised after the surgery takes place.
Chemotherapy
Radiation therapy
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