Stomach Cancer

Introduction

Where ever in your body cells grow old they die and are replaced by new generation of normal cells. When you develop cancer in any part of your body, the cells instead of dying keep multiplying in abnormal fashion and structure. They also acquire a tendency of invading or spreading to different organ or parts of your body. Similarly your stomach, the major organ of storing food and initiating its metabolism also grows into cancerous mass. It is a muscular sac like organ located in mid and upper part of your abdominal cavity. It receives food from esophagus, meeting stomach at junction just below your diaphragm.

Cancer of stomach starts in inner lining of your stomach and later progresses into severely malignant growth penetrating the deeper outer layers. Usually sequence of growth of your stomach cancer is slow precancerous cellular changes. This hardly manifest any symptoms and remains undetected. Stomach cancer ,if not detected and dealt in initial stages may spread to surrounding and distant organs of your body.

-           Incidence of stomach cancer is more encountered when you reach 65 years of age. Males are effected more than females. Although it has been the second most common cause of death worldwide, its occurrence has decline over past few decades. In most of western regions or developed countries change in dietary habits, use of refrigeration , and reduction of salt intake have played a positive role in achieving that decline.

-           The stomach cancer is ninth and fourteenth most common cause of cancer in males and females respectively in UK. An estimated nearly 22000 new cases of stomach cancer have been reported in US this year. The number of deaths reported from stomach cancer also know as gastric cancer have been 10,000.

-           worldwide figure stands at almost 1000,000 individuals with cancer at different regions in year 2008, two thirds of those are in developing countries with 800,000 deaths/year (American Cancer Society).

Causes and risk factors

How you have developed cancer of stomach is still not clear. But there is one thing quite clear about your gastric or stomach cancer that, it is initiated as result some damage to DNA present in certain cells of your stomach lining. These cells with damaged DNA, instead of dying start multiplying in abnormal way with damaged DNA. This DNA is a major coding message system. It effects cells of your body, by dictating its functions. There are many factors which can be regarded as risk or causative factors for development of your stomach cancer. These risk factors may have damaged the DNA. A damaged DNA cell can be inherited from your parents. 

Risk factors

The environmental and acquired factors which influence your chances of cancer of any type are called the risks for your cancer development. There are some risk factors which are fixed like age, sex, genetic and regional risk factors. But some risk are self acquired and hence can be modified or removed altogether. For your stomach cancer following factors can pose a risk ;

Ÿ  Age for your gastric/stomach cancer is directly related. The older you grow the more risk you have developed for stomach cancer growth. This is also associated with other co-risk factors.

Ÿ  Race makes you more susceptible for gastric cancer if you are from Asian or south American countries. In US, gastric cancer is more common in African and Hispanic whites. It is even commoner in immigrants of Asian and Pacific Island origin. Gastric cancer is found to be least common in non-Hispanic whites(American Cancer Society).

Ÿ  Gender male is more susceptible than female in development of stomach cancer. If you are male your life style and the environment will put you on greater risk of stomach cancer than your female counterpart.

Ÿ  Geography also influences risk of stomach cancer. Living in China, Japan, Southern and East Europe residents have greater stomach cancer risk. Conversely, the risk is less marked in  South Central Asian, North American, West African inhabitants(American cancer Society).

Ÿ  Tobacco smoking is one of the major risk factor for your stomach cancer. You will increase your risk for stomach cancer if you are a smoker as compared to non-smoker in your age group. Smoking has more significant role in development of cancer of upper part of your stomach. Stomach cancer in smokers have been studied to reach up to 22% in one UK study. Men are more effected than women smokers, due to higher number of smoker males. The carcinogen(cancer causing agent) in your smoke is believed to be Nitrosamines. Chewing tobacco has greater risk as shown in one Swedish study.

Ÿ  Helicobacter pylori or H.pylori infection of stomach has been studied and proved to be an important risk for stomach cancer. H.pylori infection causes severe chronic atropic gastritis. Chronic atropic gastritis is considered to be pre-cancerous(cellular changes leading to cancer formation). Your normal stomach mucosal lining later changes into adenocarcinoma with other associated factors. Helicobacter pylori infection is more common in underdeveloped countries. It is being related to poor hygiene, overcrowding and lower economic strata.

Ÿ  Alcohol in heavy volumes has definite risk for your gastric/stomach cancer. If you are a smoker and habitual binge drinker, you have greater risk of developing stomach cancer than a non-smoker alcoholic.

Ÿ  Diet which has more salt content in it has greater risk for your gastric cancer. In one Japanese study the risk of high salt in diet and stomach cancer is three folds. High salt intake in smoked fish, pickled vegetables is shown to increase carcinogenic influence of H.pylori with atropic gastritis. Meat which is processed has nitrates and nitrites. H.pylori acts on these elements and converts them into cancer initiating substances( animal study, American Cancer Society). Individuals who consume less fruits and vegetables have greater risk of stomach cancer ( UK Cancer Research published in 2011). If you eat more of meat in your regular meals you will put yourself more at risk of developing stomach cancer( British Journal publish 2009 July, Cancer Epidemiology Unit, Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Oxford, UK).

Ÿ  Family history of cancer of stomach increases your chances of same condition by as much 1 ½ fold. This applies only when your first degree relative such as your parents, brother or sister is effected by gastric carcinoma. It may be related either to common risk factors or some genetic mutation resulting in abnormal gastric cells proliferation. Being a blood group A individual will put more risk for cancer in your stomach, which may be linked to genetic inheritance.

Ÿ  Obesity has also some weak link as for risk of your stomach cancer. This have more to do with gastric cancer of most upper part of stomach called cardia. It can be due to gastric reflux disease close to your esophagus. Adenocarcinoma is the variety encountered when you are overweight obese. Individual whose body mass index(BMI) is found to be above 25 have shown prevalence of adenocarcinoma of carida(the top part of stomach) of  stomach.

Ÿ  Your risk for stomach cancer will increase if you are suffering from GERD. This is a condition of gastric acid reflux from stomach to esophagus. It will make your chances of stomach cancer to twice as compared to individual without this condition. Adenocaricnoma of stomach is associated more commonly with GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease). Suffering from stomach/gastric ulcers will enhance your chances for cancer of stomach. Vitamin B12 deficiency due to intrinsic factor will cause you pernicious anemia. This condition of reduced red blood cells production increases your vulnerability for stomach cancer also. In almost all these situation metaplasia( transformation of normal cell type into cancer forming cells) of stomach lining takes place.

Ÿ  Hereditary cancers like, non-polyposis colorectal cancer, condition such as familial adenomatous polyposis increases your risk for stomach cancer.

Ÿ  Epstein-Barr virus infection is quite common all over the world. It is causative agent in infectious mononucleosis. In some strange way, still not understood, it has been linked and found in lymphoma(immune cells) variety of stomach cancer.

Ÿ  If you are engaged in occupation which exposes you to coal fumes and dust, metal and rubber industry, you have greater risk of developing gastric cancer.