Gastric cancer is the most common malignant tumor of the stomach. Risk factors of gastric cancer are:
- H pylori infection with chronic atrophic gastritis/metaplasia/dysplasia
- Gastric adenoma
- Smoking
- Hereditary non polyposis colorectal cancer
- Juvenile polyposis
- Peutz jegher’s Syndrome
- Obesity
- Cigarette smoking
- Clinical symptoms
- Vomiting
- Hemetemesis
- Pain abdomen
- Post prandial fullness
- Anorexia
- Weight loss
- Diagnosis and staging
- Endoscopy is the investigation of choice for diagnosis of gastric cancer. Findings on endoscopy are gastric ulcer with raised margins, growth in the stomach
- CECT abdomen is done in every patient for assessment of resectibility
- PET scan plays a limited role in these patients
Treatment
- In patients with resectable tumor, surgery is the treatment of choice
- In patients with advanced disease, chemotherapy can result in palliation of symptoms, prolong the survival and downstage the tumor, so that surgery can be done