Stomach Cancer: Symptoms, Diagnosis And Treatment

Stomach Cancer: What It Is And What Causes It

Gastric adenocarcinoma ( gastric k) is a pathology that, in 90% of cases, originates from an uncontrolled growth of cells in the tissue that lines the stomach, i.e., the gastric mucosa. It is one of the most widespread neoplasms in the world; however, in recent years, its incidence has been decreasing, thanks to the possibility of making increasingly accurate diagnoses and progress in the scientific field. 

Gastric cancer is considered a multifactorial disease, meaning it is determined by a mix of different causes, among which one of the most critical aspects is diet. A diet composed mainly of fatty, preserved foods, starches, as well as salted products or products subjected to processes such as smoking, can increase the chances of getting sick. Furthermore, severely overweight individuals have a greater risk of suffering from this disease.

Other widespread causes are cigarette smoking  (those who smoke have a 40% greater chance of developing belly cancer), the presence of the Helicobacter pylori bacterium, and genetic predisposition.Those in the family who have a history of polyposis or other types of syndromes (Li-Fraumeni syndrome, Lynch syndrome, and Peutz-Jeghers syndrome) are more at risk, as are those suffering from diabetes mellitus, pernicious anemia, AIDS, and peptic ulcer.

Symptoms Of Stomach Cancer

Stomach carcinoma initially presents itself in a rather vague and non-specific manner; in fact, the initial manifestations can easily be confused with those of gastritis or peptic ulcer. Generally speaking, the symptoms to recognize gastric cancer include:

1. stomach ache;
2. abdominal pain;
3. difficulty digesting food;
4. bloating after eating;
5. sense of heaviness localized in the abdomen area;
6. nausea and vomit;
7. difficulty swallowing;
8. blood in the stool;
9. dysphagia;
10. alternation of periods of diarrhea with periods of constipation;
11. losing weight for no apparent reason.

It is essential to take into account the appearance of these symptoms and possibly undergo a gastroscopy, as an early diagnosis can play a fundamental role in fighting the disease. Given that this type of neoplasm often presents itself as an apparent gastritis or gastric ulcer, if the treatment for these two pathologies does not bring significant results, it is advisable to perform a gastroscopy in order to verify that a tumor is not present.

Stomach Cancer: Initial Symptoms

Stomach cancer presents with initial symptoms that are so vague and barely mentioned that they can go unnoticed. Often, therefore, a long time passes before the pathology is recognized, with a consequent delay in undertaking treatment. However, it is of fundamental importance to attach importance to the appearance of some initial manifestations, which could be traced back to stomach tumors. Among them, we find:

1. abdominal pain associated with a sense of inflammation and burning;
2. feeling of satiety  after meals, which appears even after eating small portions;
3. the feeling of weakness ;
4. feeling of nausea that occurs before or after meals ;
5. difficulty digesting even light foods;
6. persistent abdominal swelling ;
7. difficulty swallowing ;
8. sense of annoying fullness in correspondence with the sternum ;
9. very intense heartburn that does not ease with anti-acid medications;
10. indigestion ;
11. frequent acid regurgitation ;
12. tendency to belch ;
13. general loss of appetite ;
14. loss of appetite for a particular food (very often it is meat);
15. loss of desire to smoke.

Stomach Cancer: Final Symptoms

When stomach cancer reaches a more advanced stage, its manifestations become more evident and recognizable. Final stomach cancer symptoms include:

1. presence of occult blood in the stool  (melena);
2. vomiting with blood due to internal hemorrhages in the stomach;
3. black or very dark stools due to the presence of digested blood;
4. anemia due to the failure of the stomach to assimilate iron;
5. jaundice ;
6. extreme weakness ;
7. loss of appetite ;
8. strong weight loss ;
9. difficulty swallowing food, both solid and liquid;
10. presence of edema in various parts of the body, in particular on the ankles, due to malabsorption of proteins by the stomach;
11. oppressive pain located in the lower part of the abdomen or behind the breastbone ;
12. increased liver size ;
13. swelling in the epigastrium;
14. presence of fluid in the abdomen ;
15. hyperpigmentation of the skin.

Diagnosis Of Stomach Cancer

If the symptoms of gastric cancer are recognized, it is essential to carry out all the tests necessary to make a correct diagnosis. They understand:

1. EGDS gastroscopy. It allows you to visually investigate the region located at the beginning of the digestive tract. It is carried out via endoscope and also enables the biopsy necessary for the histological examination to be performed;
2. histological examination. It is the analysis that identifies the type of tumor and provides the first indications for starting treatment;
3. X-ray of the digestive tract. Little used because it gives less information than other diagnostic techniques;
4. Ultrasound endoscopy. It allows us to investigate in depth the invasion of the neoplasm and to evaluate the state of the lymph nodes located in the stomach;
5. CT of the abdomen and chest. Performed using a contrast medium, it is used to assess the possible presence of lymph node or distant metastases;
6. PET with 18 FDG. It allows you to verify the presence of other sites of disease, such as remote lymph nodes, to identify any metastases. It is an instrumental test – once the diagnosis has been made – since it allows you to obtain a relatively accurate staging of the disease.

Treatment Of Stomach Cancer

Stomach cancer can be treated by surgical removal, which is the primary therapeutic indication, although this is only curative in 20-30% of cases. Invasive carcinomas are generally removed surgically through a subtotal or total gastrectomy; however, much depends on where the tumor is located and which tissues it has invaded.  In association with surgery, radiotherapy or chemotherapy is then performed because this type of cancer has a relatively high recurrence rate. 

Unfortunately, due to the often late diagnosis, it is a neoplasm that still has a low survival rate. Chemotherapy carried out on patients with operable tumors can be neoadjuvant (i.e., it is carried out before surgery) or adjuvant (it is carried out after surgery) and represents the primary option for people with advanced-stage cancer. In recent years, innovative therapies have been developed, such as immunotherapy, which, for some categories of patients, can make chemotherapy more effective.

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