Stomach Cancer Health Article

Definition

Stomach cancer (also known as gastric cancer) is a disease in which the cells forming the inner lining of the stomach become abnormal and start to divide uncontrollably, forming a mass called a tumor.

Description

The stomach is a J-shaped organ that lies in the left and central portion of the abdomen. The stomach produces many digestive juices and acids that mix with the food and aid in the process of digestion. There are five regions of the stomach that doctors refer to when determining the origin of stomach cancer. These are:

• the cardia, area surrounding the cardiac sphincter which controls movement of food from the esophagus into the stomach;
• the fundus, upper expanded area adjacent to the cardiac region;
• the antrum, lower region of the stomach where it begins to narrow;
• the prepyloric, region just before or nearest the pylorus;
• and the pylorus, the terminal region where the stomach joins the small intestine.

Cancer can develop in any of the five sections of the stomach. Symptoms and outcomes of the disease will vary depending on the location of the cancer.

Demographics

Based on previous data from the National Cancer Institute and the United States Census, the American Cancer Society estimates that 21, 700 Americans will be diagnosed with stomach cancer during 2001 and approximately 13, 000 deaths will result from the disease. In most areas, men are affected by stomach cancer nearly twice as often as women. Most cases of stomach cancer are diagnosed between the ages of 50 and 70 but in families with a hereditary risk of stomach cancer, younger cases are more frequently seen.

Stomach cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer deaths in several areas of the world, most notably Japan and other Asian countries. In Japan it appears almost ten times as frequently as in the United States. The number of new stomach cancer cases is decreasing in some areas, however, especially in developed countries. In the United States, incidence rates have dropped from 30 individuals per 100, 000 in the 1930s, to only 8 in 100, 000 individuals developing stomach cancer by the 1980s. The use of refrigerated foods and increased consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables, instead of preserved foods with high salt content, may be a reason for the decline.