Gastric Cancer

Cancer of the stomach is called gastric cancer. Gastric adenocarcinoma is the most common cancer of the stomach and it arises from the cells (columnar epithelium) lining the surface of the stomach. The primary risk factor associated with gastric cancer is infection with the bacteria, Helicobacter Pylori (H. pylori). In fact, 85% to 95% of all gastric cancers are believed to be caused by this infection. H. pylori is easily eradicated with antibiotics, which may prevent the development of this cancer.

There has been a marked decline in the incidence of gastric cancer in the United States and many other industrialized nations over the past 20-30 years. However, there has been an increase in cancers arising at the junction of the esophagus with the stomach. Approximately 22,600 new cases of gastric cancer are diagnosed in the United States each year, with approximately 13,700 yearly deaths from gastric cancer. Gastric cancer ranks 14th in incidence and is the 9th leading cause of cancer death in the US.

Gastric cancer is more common and is the major cause of cancer-related death in Asian countries such as Korea, China, Taiwan and Japan. Thus, much of the knowledge about treatment, especially surgery, comes from these countries. The incidence of gastric cancer is so high in these countries that they perform routine screening by esophagoscopy for detection of early gastric cancer. Early detection programs, such as those implemented in Japan, are not practiced elsewhere in the world because of the lower incidence of gastric cancer. For this reason, gastric cancer is detected at a later stage (extent of spread) in the U.S. and Europe than in Japan.