What is Stomach Cancer?
The upper portion of your abdomen contains a muscular pouch called the stomach that is located just below your ribs. Before it is broken down and digested, food is first taken in by your stomach and held there. The development of stomach cancer, also referred to as gastric cancer, occurs when abnormal cells divide and grow abnormally quickly, creating a tumour mass in the lining of the stomach. Typically, stomach cancer develops slowly over a long period of time with no early symptoms. Consequently, in its early stages, it remains undiagnosed. It remains untreated until it extends to other stomach regions or far-off body parts.
Asarfi oncology department excels at offering top-notch cancer treatment because of their combined more than 30 years of clinical excellence. Our oncologists and onco-surgeons treat all types and forms of cancer using a multidisciplinary approach. They are assisted by a team of highly skilled reconstructive surgeons who treat all of our patients, both adults and children, with extensive care, as well as by the newest cancer treatment technologies.
Types
The cancer of the stomach can take many forms. Among them are:
Adenocarcinoma
Adenocarcinoma, or stomach cancer that starts in the inner lining of the stomach, is the most common kind.
Leukaemia
Immune system cancers known as lymphomas can originate from any point in the lymphatic system. Stomach lymphomas make up only 4% of stomach cancers, making them extremely rare.
Intestine-related Tumours
The hormone-producing cells in the stomach are where intestinal cancers start. The interstitial cells of Cajal are an uncommon kind of stomach cancer (ICCs). GIST cells resemble muscle nerve cells when seen under a microscope. Although they can occur anywhere in the digestive tract, 60 to 70 percent of cases occur in the stomach.
Symptoms
It is very challenging to identify stomach cancer in its early stages because it often exhibits no symptoms. Some signs and symptoms of stomach cancer include the following:
- Absence of hunger
- Unexpected weight reduction
- abdominal pain
- Heartburn and indigestion
- nausea and vomiting
- swelling and fluid buildup in the abdomen
- Low RBC level, or anaemia
- An impression of fullness in the upper abdomen
- Stomach ache
Causes
Although several risk factors have been identified by research, the exact cause of stomach cancer is unknown.
Physicians are aware that changes in a stomach cell's DNA are the first sign of stomach cancer. A cell's instructions for what to do are encoded in its DNA. The changes that occur when healthy cells die instruct the remaining cells to proliferate quickly and survive. Growing cells combine to form a tumour, which has the ability to invade and kill healthy tissue. Over time, cells have the ability to separate and travel (metastasize) to different areas of the body.
Additional Dangers
Some of the factors that increase the risk of stomach cancer include the following:
- Disease of gastric reflux
- Being overweight
- A diet high in smoked and salty foods
- An inadequate intake of fruits and vegetables
- Gut cancer running in the family
- infection with Helicobacter pylori
- chronic inflammation of the stomach (gastritis)
- Consuming tobacco
- stomach polyps
Stages
The following is a list of stomach cancer stages:
- Stage 0: At this point, cancer is only visible in the stomach wall's deepest layer or the mucosal lining.
- Stage I: This is divided into two groups, Stage IA and Stage IB, according to the cancer's extent.
- Stage I-A: In this instance, the cancer has completely penetrated the mucosal, or deepest, layer of the stomach wall.
- Stage I-B: The tumour has penetrated the stomach wall's mucosal layer, and in stage IB cancer, up to six lymph nodes can be found close to the tumour or in the muscularis, the stomach wall's middle layer.
- Stage II: The following are the ways that stomach cancer has spread when it has reached this stage:
- Stage II-A: It is present in seven to fifteen lymph nodes close to the tumour and has completely penetrated the mucosal layer of the stomach wall.
- Stage II-B: Up to six lymph nodes close to the tumour showed evidence of spread to the muscularis, or middle layer, of the stomach, and this finding is still present.
- Stage II-C: It has not reached the lymph nodes or other organs, but it has reached the serosal layer of the stomach wall.
- Stage III: Additional divisions exist between Stages IIIA and IIIB.
- Stage III-A: This stage denotes the following areas where the cancer has spread
- There are seven to fifteen lymph nodes near the tumour that contain the muscularis, or middle layer of the stomach wall.
- The stomach wall's serosal layer, which is present in one to six lymph nodes close to the tumour.
- Organs near the stomach, but excluding lymph nodes and other body parts.
- Stage III-B:Seven to fifteen lymph nodes close to the tumour have been found to have evidence of stage IIIB cancer, which has spread to the serosal layer of the stomach wall.
- Stage IV: At this point, the cancer has progressed to distant body parts, at least one lymph node, and the organs surrounding the stomach.
Treatment
One of Asarfi superspecialty divisions is oncology. The doctors on our team have been using their expertise and commitment to treat patients with various types of cancer. The course of treatment for stomach cancer is determined by a number of factors, including the patient's age, the tumor's and other medical conditions' histories, the tumor's or cancer's stage of progression, etc. However, the following are some of the most often chosen courses of action for those with stomach cancer:
- Surgery: By excising the affected area of the oesophagus or stomach, stomach cancer that has not spread can be eradicated surgically. Typically, lymph nodes that are close to the stomach are also removed.
- Radiation Therapy: In cases of cancer affecting the stomach body and the gastroesophageal junction, radiation therapy (also known as neoadjuvant radiation) can be used prior to surgery to shrink a tumour and facilitate its removal. Adjuvant radiation therapy is a treatment that can be used after surgery to eradicate cancer cells that may still be present in the vicinity of your stomach or oesophagus.
- Chemotherapy: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is the use of chemotherapy prior to surgery to help shrink a tumour so that it can be removed more easily. Chemotherapy (adjuvant chemotherapy) is frequently used to eradicate cancer cells that are left in the body following surgery. It is common practise to combine radiation therapy and chemotherapy. When treating patients with advanced stomach cancer, chemotherapy may be used alone to relieve symptoms and signs.
- Targeted Therapy: This refers to the use of medications that either target particular flaws in cancer cells or instruct your immune system to eliminate cancer cells.
