What is stomach cancer?
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Stomach cancer is sometimes called gastric cancer. World-wide it is one of the most common cancers. For example, it is common in Japan and China. It is less common in the UK. Stomach cancer is more common in men than women and tends to occur mainly in older people. Most cases are in people over the age of 45.
Adenocarcinoma of the stomach?
In most cases, stomach cancer begins from a cell which is on the inside lining of the stomach (the mucosa). This type of stomach cancer is called adenocarcinoma of the stomach. As the cancer cells multiply:
- The tumour may invade deeper into the wall of the stomach. In time it may pass through the wall of the stomach and invade nearby organs such as the pancreas or liver.
- The tumour may spread up or down the stomach into the oesophagus (gullet) or small intestine.
- Some cells may break off into the lymph channels or bloodstream. The cancer may then spread to nearby lymph nodes or spread to other areas of the body (metastasise).
Other types of stomach cancer
There are some less common and rare types of stomach cancer which include:
- Lymphoma. These are cancers which arise from lymphatic tissue within the wall of the stomach.
- Sarcomas. These are cancers which arise from muscle or connective tissue within the wall of the stomach
- Carcinoid cancers. These are cancers which arise from cells in the stomach lining which make hormones.
The rest of this leaflet only discusses adenocarcinoma of the stomach.
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