Gastric cancer is a malignant tumor. The probability to fell ill depends on heredity, features of nutrition (spicy, salty, fried, smoked and tinned food), in particular the nitrite giving a red color to sausages is capable to cause a cancer. Precancerous states are long stomach diseases – gastritis with the reduced acidity, polyps and ulcers. More often there is a cancer in people who underwent operations. Connection with cancer of Helicobacter Pylori bacterium living in stomach in half of people is proved. Infection with this bacterium can occur at kisses. Smoking and alcohol definitely lead to cancer. In a healthy stomach there is no cancer. At first properties of the cells covering stomach from within are changed.
The small tumor doesn’t give the expressed symptoms. Only sometimes loss of appetite, disgust for certain products, small temperature increase, and decrease of hemoglobin level becomes perceptible.
With growth of cancer tumor there new symptoms appear – heaviness in stomach after meals, nausea and vomiting, disturbances of stool (diarrheas and constipations). In time there are pains at the top of abdomen. At invasion in pancreas there are pains of the encircling character extended to back. Abdomen is enlarged in sizes, and liquid (ascites) accumulates in it. The patient grows thin. If vessels are blasted, bleeding is possible.
The success of cancer therapy of stomach depends on the sizes of the tumor and lesion with it the neighbor organs, existence of the remote metastasis.
The main method of treatment is a surgery. Tumor is removed with a part of stomach; sometimes it is necessary to remove stomach completely. After operation treatment medicines or radiation is prescribed.
Risk Factors and Causes of Stomach Cancer
The cause of stomach cancer is unknown. Age and gender are risk factors and the disease is more common in men over the age of 55.
A diet high in salt and nitrates and low in vitamins A and C increases the risk for stomach cancer. Other dietary risk factors include food preparation (e.g., preserving food by smoking, salt-curing, pickling, or drying) and environment (e.g., lack of refrigeration, poor drinking water). A diet high in raw fruits and vegetables, citrus fruits, and fiber may lower the risk for stomach cancer.
Medical conditions that increase the risk for the disease include pernicious anemia (vitamin B-12 deficiency), chronic inflammation of the stomach (atrophic gastritis), and intestinal polyps (noncancerous growths).
Genetic (hereditary) risk factors include hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer (HNPCC) syndrome and Li-Fraumeni syndrome (conditions that result in a predisposition to cancer), and a family history of gastrointestinal cancer. People with type A blood also have an increased risk for stomach cancer.
Prevention of Stomach Cancer
Stomach cancer cannot be prevented in all cases. As with most types of cancer, reducing stomach cancer risk involves making healthy lifestyle choices and limiting exposure to environmental factors thought to be associated with the condition. This may be difficult, since gastric cancer causes are not well understood.
Dietary risk factors can be managed. Individuals, especially those in risk groups, should eat an adequate amount of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
In addition, high-fat foods and animal proteins should only be consumed moderately. Most importantly, individuals should minimize their intake of dried, salty foods.
Some researchers believe that there are environmental exposures that can predispose an individual to develop some forms of gastric cancer and that genetic factors may play a role in others. More investigation is needed in these areas.
Future research may shed more light on the causes of gastric cancer and possibly lead to more effective preventive measures.