Stomach cancer screening and detection
What is stomach cancer?
Stomach cancer, also called gastric or stomach cancer, is a cancer that originates in the stomach.
How often does it occur?
Each year, between six and eight thousand new cases of this type of tumor are diagnosed, of which 70 percent arrive with a specialist in advanced stages of the disease.
Among the different types of carcinomas, stomach carcinoma is the fifth most frequent, after breast, prostate, cervical and colon carcinomas.
It affects men and women equally.
It is the fourth leading cause of cancer worldwide and the third leading cause of cancer death in Mexico in individuals over 20 years of age.
This type of cancer used to be diagnosed in people over 60 years of age, but is now detected from the age of 50.
However, in just over 10 percent of cases, they occur in people under 40 years of age.
¿Cuáles son los síntomas?
Stomach cancer usually does not present symptoms, which complicates its detection.
Mild nausea
Indigestion or upset stomach
Feeling bloated after eating
Unexplained weight loss
Loss of appetite
Stomachache
Advanced stomach cancer (cancer that has spread beyond the stomach to other parts of the body) may include the symptoms mentioned above, in addition to the following:
Blood in stool
Vomiting
Stomachache
Jaundice (yellowing of the eyes and skin)
Ascites (fluid accumulation in the abdomen)
Difficulty swallowing
The symptoms of this disease are similar to common gastric problems in the population such as gastritis or reflux. This can cause patients to mistake gastritis for stomach cancer.
How can I tell if I have stomach cancer?
There are several tests available for the detection of stomach cancer.
Endoscopy is the best study for detecting stomach cancer, as it allows you to see directly inside the stomach and take biopsies.
