What is stomach cancer?

Stomach is part of the digestive system. It secretes gastric acid to help breaking down large pieces of food into smaller ones. The food then enters the intestine for further digestion.

Mutations will turn stomach cells into malignant tumor - stomach cancer. It is a general term referring to gastric gland cell cancer, (tumor of smooth muscle), gastric malignant lymphoma, gastrointestinal stromal tumor, of which gastric gland cell cancer represents more than 90% of stomach cancer.
 
What are the risk factors of stomach cancer?

There are many factors leading to stomach cancer. Researches have shown that Helicobacter pylori (a bacteria in stomach) infection may increase the chance of stomach cancer. If you fall into one of these categories, please pay extra attention:

• Gender: men have twice the probability of having stomach cancer than women
• Age: the older the age, the greater the chance of cancer. Patients over 50 have greater chances of having stomach cancer.
• Diet: long term intake of highly salted, processed, pickled or smoked food are more susceptible to stomach cancer.
• Disease: patients with stomach polyps, history of gastrectomy or severe anaemia have higher chances of having stomach cancer
• Smoking: smoker are more likely to have stomach cancer than non-smokers.
• Inheritance: patients with family history of stomach cancer are twice as likely to develop have stomach cancer than others.

Reference: psclinic.com.hk/
The information aims to provide educational purpose only. Anyone reading it should consult
Surgery Specialist before considering treatment and should not rely on the information
above.