Stomach Cancer

Stomach Cancer
Stomach cancer begins when cancer cells form in the inner lining of your stomach. These cells can grow into a tumor. Also called gastric cancer, the disease usually grows slowly over many years. Stomach cancer is most often seen in people in their late 60s through 80s. Almost all stomach cancers (about 95%) start in the glandular tissue that lines the stomach. The tumor may spread along the stomach wall or may grow directly through the wall and shed cells into the bloodstream or lymphatic system. Once beyond the stomach, cancer can spread to other organs.

Stomach cancers are classified according to the type of tissue they start in.

• Adenocarcinomas -- the most common -- start in the glandular stomach lining.
• Lymphomas develop from lymphocytes, a type of blood cell involved in the immune system.
• Sarcomas involve connective tissue (muscle, fat, or blood vessels).
• Other types include carcinoid, small cell carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma.
• Metastatic cancers from breast cancer, melanoma, and other primary sites of cancer are also seen in the stomach.

What Causes Stomach Cancer?
Scientists don’t know exactly what makes cancer cells start growing in the stomach. But they do know a few things that can raise your risk for the disease. One of them is infection with a common bacteria, H. pylori, which causes ulcers. Inflammation in your gut is called gastritis, a certain type of long-lasting anemia called pernicious anemia, and growths in your stomach called polyps also can make you more likely to get cancer.

Other things that seem to play a role in raising the risk include:

• Smoking
• Being overweight or obese
• A diet high in smoked, pickled, or salty foods
• Drinking alcohol regularly
• Stomach surgery for an ulcer
• Type-A blood
• Epstein-Barr virus infection
• Certain genes
• Working in coal, metal, timber, or rubber industries
• Exposure to asbestos
• Family history of gastric cancer
• Hereditary factors such as familial adenomatous polyposis, hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (Lynch syndrome), and Peutz-Jeghers syndrome