Stomach Cancer or Gastric Cancer

The growth of malignant cells in the lining and the wall of the stomach results in the stomach cancer or gastric cancer.

Most of the stomach cancer or gastric cancer starts in the glandular tissue that lines the stomach.

These abnormal cells which grow and divide rapidly accumulate at a point to form a tumor.

As time passes the stomach cancer or gastric cancer if left untreated spreads and grows into the deeper layers. The tumor may spread along the stomach wall or may grow directly through the wall and shed cells into the bloodstream or lymphatic system.

Types of Stomach Cancer or Gastric Cancer

Stomach cancer or gastric cancers are classified broadly into three types according to the type of tissue where they originate. Adenocarcinomas, is the most common type which starts in the glandular stomach lining.

Second type is lymphomas, which involve the lymphatic system, and third type being sarcomas, which involve the connective tissue like the muscle, fat, or blood vessels.

Stomach Cancer or Gastric Cancer Prognosis and Survival Rate

The prognosis of the stomach cancer or gastric cancer depends on many factors which differ from patient to patient. They are the duration of the cancer affect, the complications which may arise in future, and the analysis of the outcomes, the chances of recovery with respect to this cancer, the past records of survival, death rates and prognosis. Taking into account all these factors the prognosis and survival differ and is perfectly unpredictable.

In Stomach cancer or gastric cancer survival rate will depend on the

  • Stomach cancer or gastric cancer  exact type
  • Stage of stomach cancer or gastric cancer
  • Grade of stomach cancer or gastric cancer

The stage of a cancer is the size of the tumor and whether it has spread and if so to what extent. As any other cancer the staging is very important to determine the treatment method (Stomach Cancer Treatment) and prognosis.

The early stage of stomach cancer or gastric cancer is stage I and this stage has a better outlook than the other stages which are more advanced.

The grade of the cancer depends on the appearance of the cancer cells under the microscope. The more like normal cells the cancer cells look, the lower the grade. The more abnormal the cells appear, the higher the grade. Low grade cancers tend to be less aggressive than high grade cancers.

Unfortunately as the stomach cancer or gastric cancer is diagnosed in the advanced stage due to less or no symptoms shown in its early stage the survival rate is not that good.

If the stomach cancer or the gastric cancer is detected in the early stage the survival chances are better for example according to statistics the overall 5 year survival statistics is about 20%. That means approximately 1 in 5 of all those diagnosed with stomach cancer or gastric cancer can live up to 5 years after the disease is detected.