Stomach cancer is a disease in which tumors are found in the stomach. If it is not diagnosed quickly, it may spread to other parts of your stomach as well as to other organs.Stomach cancer is common throughout the world and affects all races, it is more common in men than women, and has its peak age range between 40 and 60 years old.
Types of Stomach Cancer
The most common types start in the glandular cells of the stomach lining (adenocarcinomas), this is where stomach acid and digestive enzymes are made, and where most cancers start. When the tumor becomes more advanced, it can travel through the bloodstream and spread to organs such as the liver, lungs, and bones.
Cancers that start in the lymphatic tissue (lymphoma), in the stomach's muscular tissue (sarcoma) or in the tissues that support the organs of the digestive system (gastrointestinal stromal tumors) are less common and are treated in different ways.
Signs and Symptoms
Early clues to stomach cancer are chronic dyspepsia and epigastric discomfort, followed in later stages by weight loss, anorexia, a feeling of fullness after eating, anemia and fatigue. Blood in the stools may also be present and if the Cancer is in the Cardia (top) vomiting may occur.
Treatment
Although the cancer may be treated with surgery, radiation therapy, or chemotherapy, in many cases surgery is the treatment of choice. Even in patients whose disease is not considered surgically curable, resection offers a palliative effect and improves potential benefits from chemotherapy.
In some cases of advanced stomach cancer, a laser beam directed through an endoscope can vaporize most of the tumor and relieve obstruction without an operation.
Types of Stomach Cancer
The most common types start in the glandular cells of the stomach lining (adenocarcinomas), this is where stomach acid and digestive enzymes are made, and where most cancers start. When the tumor becomes more advanced, it can travel through the bloodstream and spread to organs such as the liver, lungs, and bones.
Cancers that start in the lymphatic tissue (lymphoma), in the stomach's muscular tissue (sarcoma) or in the tissues that support the organs of the digestive system (gastrointestinal stromal tumors) are less common and are treated in different ways.
Signs and Symptoms
Early clues to stomach cancer are chronic dyspepsia and epigastric discomfort, followed in later stages by weight loss, anorexia, a feeling of fullness after eating, anemia and fatigue. Blood in the stools may also be present and if the Cancer is in the Cardia (top) vomiting may occur.
Treatment
Although the cancer may be treated with surgery, radiation therapy, or chemotherapy, in many cases surgery is the treatment of choice. Even in patients whose disease is not considered surgically curable, resection offers a palliative effect and improves potential benefits from chemotherapy.
In some cases of advanced stomach cancer, a laser beam directed through an endoscope can vaporize most of the tumor and relieve obstruction without an operation.
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