In this Article

• What is the stomach?
• What is cancer, and how does stomach cancer spread?
• What are risk factors and causes of stomach cancer?
• What are symptoms of stomach cancer?
• How is stomach cancer diagnosed?
• How is staging determined?
• What is the treatment for stomach cancer?
• Treatment methods
• What are some of the nutritional concerns of stomach cancer patients?
• What follow-up care is necessary for stomach cancer patients? What about complementary and alternative medicine?
• What support is there for cancer patients?
• What resources are available to patients with stomach cancer?
• Stomach Cancer At A Glance
• Stomach Cancer Glossary
• Stomach Cancer Index

Risk factors

No one knows the exact causes of stomach cancer. Doctors often cannot explain why one person develops this disease and another does not.

Research has shown that people with certain risk factors are more likely than others to develop stomach cancer. A risk factor is something that may increase the chance of developing a disease.

Studies have found the following risk factors for stomach cancer:

• Age: Most people with this disease are 72 or older.



• Sex: Men are more likely than women to develop stomach cancer.



• Race: Stomach cancer is more common in Asian, Pacific Islander, Hispanic, and African Americans than in non-Hispanic white Americans.



• Diet: Studies suggest that people who eat a diet high in foods that are smoked, salted, or pickled may be at increased risk for stomach cancer. On the other hand, eating fresh fruits and vegetables may protect against this disease.



• Helicobacter pylori infection: H. pylori is a type of bacteria that commonly lives in the stomach. H. pylori infection increases the risk of stomach inflammation and stomach ulcers. It also increases the risk of stomach cancer, but only a small number of infected people develop stomach cancer. Although infection increases the risk, cancer is not contagious. You cannot catch stomach cancer from another person who has it.




• Smoking: People who smoke are more likely to develop stomach cancer than people who do not smoke.




• Certain health problems: Conditions that cause inflammation or other problems in the stomach may increase the risk of stomach cancer:
  
  
  • Stomach surgery
  
  
  
  • Chronic gastritis (long-term inflammation of the stomach lining)
  
  
  
  • Pernicious anemia (a blood disease that affects the stomach)
  
  
  
• Family history: A rare type of stomach cancer runs in some families.

Most people who have known risk factors do not develop stomach cancer. For example, many people have H. pylori in their stomach but never develop cancer. On the other hand, people who do develop the disease sometimes have no known risk factors.

If you think you may be at risk, you should talk with your doctor. Your doctor may be able to suggest ways to reduce your risk and can plan a schedule for checkups.

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