Stomach cancer-Symptoms,Causes ,Diagnosis and Treatment

Stomach cancer is a one of the common cancer in the world.It affects more men than the women.Stomach cancer usually diagnosis late so it causes to late treatment and poor result.The risk factors for being diagnosed with stomach cancer by age 85 is 1 in 61 for men and for women 1 in 137 for women.

There is no any routine test for the screening stomach cancer,for that most patient come to doctor in the late stage of cancer.

Early signs of the stomach cancer  are ;
Felling a pain or burning in the abdomen
Dyspepsia which means indigestion or feeling heartburn

And another symptoms of cancer are ;
Feeling of fullness,even eating small meal
Vomiting and nausea
enlargement of abdomen
Weight loss and loss of appetite
Weakness and feeling tiredness
Blood in the stool

The most common tests to diagnose stomach cancer are an endoscopy or gastroscopy (possibly with biopsy). Other tests, used less often, are barium swallow/upper gastrointestinal x-ray or endoscopic ultrasound.

Staging
After stomach cancer is diagnosed, one or more of the following tests are used to determine the extent of the cancer (its stage):

CT scan
ultrasound scan
PET scan
laparoscopy
bone scan.
The staging system used for stomach cancer is the TNM system , which describes the stage of the cancer from stage I to stage IV.

Causes

The causes of stomach cancer are not known, but factors that put some people at higher risk are:

Smoking
Age over 50
Being male - stomach cancers are more common in men than in women
İnfection with the bacteria Helicobacter pylori
A diet high in smoked, pickled and salted foods and low in fresh fruit and vegetables
A family history of stomach cancer
Partial gastrectomy for ulcer disease (after about 20 years)
İnheriting a genetic change that causes the bowel disorders familial adenomatous polyposis or hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer.
Prevention
Not smoking or quitting smoking. A diet that is high in fresh vegetables and fruit, and low in smoked, pickled and salted foods, may be protective. Treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection may also be protective.

Treatment

The main treatment for stomach cancer is surgery – a total or partial gastrectomy (removing all or part of the stomach). Chemotherapy may be given before and/or after surgery, usually:

1. Three cycles of pre-operative chemotherapy (epirubicin/cisplatin/fluorouracil) and three cycles of post-operative chemotherapy (the MAGIC  protocol).

or

2. Post-operative chemotherapy with fluorouracil, folinic acid and radiation (Intergroup protocol).