Stomach cancer

Stomach cancer, or gastric cancer, is a kind of cancer from any part of the stomach. Stomach cancer causes about 800,000 deaths worldwide per year. The odds of survival are 5 to 15%. The life span of someone with stomach cancer is five to fifteen years. This is because this type of cancer can spread faster than other cancers.

Stomach cancer
Classification and external resources
File:Adenocarcinoma of the stomach.jpg A suspicious stomach ulcer that was ultimately diagnosed as cancer on biopsy and resected. The surgical specimen was subsequently kept for educational purposes.
ICD-10	C16.
ICD-9	151.9
OMIM	137215
DiseasesDB	12445
MedlinePlus	000223
eMedicine	med/845
MeSH	D013274

Most stomach cancer is caused by Helicobacter pylori infection. Diet foods are not proven causes, but some foods, such as smoked foods, salted fish and meat, and pickled vegetables are associated with a higher risk. Heavy metals, such as arsenic in soil, have been linked to gastric cancers and have positive relationship with incidence or death.

Types of stomach cancer

There are several types of stomach cancer, which can be categorized based on the location in the stomach where the cancer begins. The most common type of stomach cancer is adenocarcinoma, which starts in the cells lining the inside of the stomach. Other types of stomach cancer include:

• Lymphoma: This starts in the lymphatic system, which is a network of vessels and nodes that help circulate blood and fight infection.
• Sarcoma: This develops in the connective tissues or muscles of the stomach.
• Gastrointestinal stromal tumor: This type of tumor arises from the interstitial cells of Cajal, which are specialized cells that control the movement of food through the digestive tract.
• Carcinoid tumor: This type of tumor arises from the neuroendocrine cells in the stomach, which produce hormones that regulate digestion.

New therapies and survival rates

A 2025 study called the DRAGON-01 trial found that intraperitoneal chemotherapy helped people with stomach cancer live longer. This method puts the cancer medicine directly into the belly (abdomen), where it can more efficiently reach tumors.

In the study, patients received both intraperitoneal and intravenous paclitaxel and an oral drug called S-1. Patients lived longer than with standard treatments. The 1-year survival rate was 69.6% compared to 54.1% in the control group.

The study also showed that more patients could get surgery after this treatment, which can improve survival.

Stomach Cancer Media

• Endoscopic images of the stomach cancer in early stage. Its histology was poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma with signet ring cells. Left above: normal, right above: FICE, left low: acetate stained, right low: AIM stained

• Stomach cancer types by relative incidence

• Diagram showing the T stages of stomach cancer CRUK 374.svg

  T stages of stomach cancer

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  Stomach cancer metastasized to the lungs

• Infiltrative (poorly cohesive) gastric cancer.jpg

  A gross anatomy specimen of a total gastrectomy, splenectomy for infiltrative gastric cancer

• Infiltrative gastric cancer showing thickened stomach wall.jpg

  The same picture, close-up, total gastrectomy, infiltrative gastric cancer

• Anatomy before Roux-en-y surgery to resect stomach cancer

• Stomach cancer world map-Deaths per million persons-WHO2012.svg

  Stomach cancer deaths per million persons in 2012*

       0–11     12–16     17–24     25–33     34–51     52–76     77–102     103–128     129–175     176–400