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Gastric cancer

Gastric cancer

Causes and Risk Factors of Stomach Cancer

Stomach cancer can have many causes. As with many diseases, it is difficult to provide a definitive cause for this disease. However, it is possible to talk about a few sharp factors and risk factors that affect the formation of the disease. First of all, genetic factors can cause this disease. Then the most important nutritional factors can be shown. Nutritional factors such as wrong eating habits, excessively salted and pickled vegetables, especially barbecued meats and the like, shock-free foods, smoked fish or dried meats, and consumption of high-carbohydrate foods started at an early age are among the causes of stomach cancer. After that, excessive smoking and alcohol consumption is one of the main reasons. Consuming these two together is thought to increase the effect. By avoiding these products, the possibility of stomach cancer can be reduced.

Stomach Cancer Risk Factors

  • Among these factors, the effect of age is great. Generally, most of the cases are patients who are 70 years or older.
  • Gender effect: Men are more likely to get stomach cancer than women.
  • Race and geography: These cases are mostly seen in Asian, African and South American societies. The reason is thought to be due to the consumption of highly spicy foods. At the same time, some races have a higher risk of developing cancer than other races.
  • Nutrition and diet: Consuming smoked, pickled, salted, dried and over-salted foods increases the risk of stomach cancer. These foods contain nitrates. This is the cause of cancer.
  • If you have had stomach surgery before, there is a risk.
  • Presence of chronic gastritis
  • People who work in companies such as metal, coal, rubber, petrochemicals are more likely to have gastric cancer.
  • People with pernicious anemia caused by vitamin B12 deficiency are also in the risk group.
  • Helicobacter pyroli infection: A direct relationship is observed between this type of bacteria and stomach cancer. However, stomach cancer does not occur in every person carrying this bacterium.
  • Excessive consumption of cigarettes, tobacco and alcohol are among the causes and risk factors of stomach cancer.

Stomach Cancer Symptoms

Stomach cancer may not show any symptoms in its first stage. In the later stages, certain changes are observed in the patient after its appearance. The most common of the symptoms and complaints are loss of appetite and indigestion. Later, these symptoms manifest themselves as unexplained weight loss. Besides;

  • Frequent feeling of fullness and loss of appetite
  • Pain and burning sensation in the stomach and esophagus that comes
  • Constantly and for no reason. These are the most common symptoms. The patient usually feels a pain in the part of the esophagus that connects to the stomach.
  • Continuous and rapid weight loss
  • Feeling sluggish, exhausted and overwhelmed all the time
  • Indigestion and nausea
  • Persistent vomiting and convulsions
  • Pain in the throat when swallowing and difficulty in swallowing
  • Bloody vomit and stool in advanced stages
  • Persistent belching and a bitter taste in the mouth. As a result of increased stomach acid, the person is constantly burping. However, it should be noted that not everyone with this symptom will have stomach cancer.

It is very important for people who experience such symptoms to see a doctor. The patient can live without stomach cancer symptoms. In some cases, stomach cancer can progress silently without showing itself. In such cases, the chance of early diagnosis is unfortunately lost and it will be too late for surgical intervention. All these findings may worry the patient. For this reason, it would be useful to see your doctor and get tested. However, it should not be forgotten that all these findings may also be a sign of different and less harmful diseases.

Stomach Cancer Diagnosis

In order to diagnose stomach cancer, first of all, it is necessary to carefully examine the findings and complaints. Your doctor will first address your complaints. In order to make a diagnosis, the patient’s lifestyle, eating habits and complaints are learned. He then performs tests for symptoms. These tests are:

  1. Endoscopy: Endoscopy is the most commonly used method. A thin tube with a camera and light at the end is inserted through the mouth into the body and is checked into the esophagus, the lining of the stomach, and sometimes the inner parts of the small intestine. Damaged tissues are tried to be detected. If abnormal conditions are detected, a suitable and small piece of the stomach is taken and sent to the pathology department for a definitive diagnosis. The use of endoscopy is important in detecting the disease at an early stage. In this way, the most appropriate method for stomach cancer treatment methods is used early.
  2. Computed Tomography: This is a method used to understand the location of the cancerous area, the size of the cancer and the extent of its spread.
  3. Laparoscopy: General anesthesia is applied to the patient. By inserting a camera into the body through the mouth, the patient’s stomach is examined in detail and it is checked whether the cancer has spread.
  4. Endoscopic Ultrasound: With this method, the upper parts of the patient’s esophagus and stomach are examined.
  5. MRI: The stage of the cancer is determined.
  6. Chest X-ray: X-ray is used to detect whether the cancer has reached parts of the lung.

All these methods are very important for the diagnosis of stomach cancer and are diagnostic methods that should be done to provide great benefits in early diagnosis.

Esophageal Cancer Stages

Esophageal cancer occurs in 4 stages. It increases in stages as the cancer progresses. For example, the new onset of cancer can be said to be stage 1.

  • Stage 1 in esophageal cancer: In this type of cancer, no symptoms are seen at this stage because the symptoms appear very late. That’s why it’s very difficult to diagnose a stage 1 cancer. Cancer occurs only in the inner lining of the esophagus. Cancer cells have not yet reached the muscle structure. In patients at this stage, the treatment is generally not done by removing the entire esophagus, but only by removing the cancerous membrane by entering through the mouth with the help of an endoscope.
  • Stage 2 in esophageal cancer: At this stage, cancer cells have reached the muscle structures.
  • Stage 3 in esophageal cancer: The disease has spread to the surrounding lymph nodes after the esophagus. In patients at this stage, it is aimed to reduce the tumors by applying chemotherapy and radiotherapy. In case of decrease, the tumor is removed by surgical procedures.
  • Stage 4 in esophageal cancer: At this stage, the tumor has spread well around it. It usually spreads to the liver, stomach, lung and bone lymph nodes. Since the tumor has spread widely and it is the last stage of the disease, surgery is usually not performed for patients at this stage. Only chemotherapy can be applied.

Risk Factors in Esophageal Cancer

Factors that cause irritation to cells in the esophagus and some factors that increase the risk of esophageal cancer are as follows;

  • Obesity,
  • Drinking hot drinks too often
  • Excessive alcohol consumption,
  • Having gastroesophageal reflux disease
  • To smoke,
  • Barrett Esophagus,
  • Having the problem of bile reflux,
  • Constantly feeding on meat,
  • Not consuming vegetables and fruits
  • Factors such as radiation therapy of the chest or abdomen pose a risk for esophageal cancer.

Diagnostic Methods for Esophageal Cancer

With endoscopy, the diagnosis of esophageal cancer can be made. The damaged or cancerous area can be determined by inserting it through the mouth and descending into the esophagus. Another diagnostic method is biopsy. Again, with the endoscope tool that goes down from the throat to the esophagus, a tissue that is suspected of being cancerous is removed with this tool. And with a biopsy of the tissue sample, it is understood whether it is cancerous or not.

Esophageal Cancer Treatments

The type of cancer-causing cells, the general health status of the patient and the stage of the cancer determine the treatment option in esophageal cancer. Surgical interventions and treatment methods are also divided into classes within themselves. One of them is surgery to remove very small tumors. If the tumor does not spread around it and its size is small, surgery can be performed through an endoscope. Another is the surgical procedure to remove only part of the esophagus. With this procedure called esophagectomy, only the tumor part of the esophagus is removed. The last surgical procedure is esophagogastrectomy, if the tumor has spread to the stomach, a part of the esophagus and a part of the stomach where the tumor has spread are removed. These operations are performed with the help of special surgical instruments. However, there may be great risks such as bleeding and leakage in these surgical procedures. The treatment method other than surgical interventions is the esophageal stent. This form of treatment is performed by keeping the esophagus open by placing a stent when cancer narrows the esophagus. Apart from these treatments, chemotherapy, radiochemotherapy and radiation treatments are also used for esophageal cancer. These treatments are only used to reduce the size of tumors in the esophagus. It is also used in conjunction with other forms of treatment.

Stomach cancer is a type of cancer that occurs as a result of the uncontrolled proliferation and development of cells on the surface of the stomach. It is the 4th most common cancer among all cancers and is an oncological disease that can settle in any part of the stomach and then spread to other organs such as the lung and liver. It usually occurs between the esophagus and the stomach. Malnutrition arises with factors such as genetic factors, socioeconomic development-related and environmental factors, dietary habits, and then gender and age. It has a slower development time than other species.

It is one of the most common types of cancer in our country. It is responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths around the world every year. However, thanks to the developing health system and technologies, early diagnosis and correct treatment methods can be applied. Since the complaints of the patients increase in the later stages, it is extremely important to detect the symptoms for early diagnosis and result in stomach cancer symptoms.

STOMACH CANCER TREATMENT METHODS

1. Surgical Method:

In this method, intervention is required according to the stage of the cancer. Part or all of the stomach can be removed. Damaged tissues are cleaned. Even if the stage of the cancer is advanced, surgery can be considered. This prevents the tumor from growing and compressing the stomach. If it is at a very early stage, it can be intervened with endoscopic, laparoscopic or open surgical methods. After the operation, the patient may experience heartburn, abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea. Sometimes, leakage and blood may come from the incision areas. Patients are fed frequently and sparingly. Then, vitamins are given against vitamin deficiencies.

2. CHEMOTHERAPY:

Chemotherapy is a method used before or after surgery. It is used to shrink the tumor. Chemotherapy before surgery is called neoadjuvant. After the surgery, chemotherapy is applied again. The next name is Adjuvant. The reason is to kill any cancer cells that are or may remain after surgery. It is used for tumors that cannot be completely removed in surgery. After chemotherapy, patients may experience hair loss, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, frequent infections, bruises on the skin, fatigue and weakness due to low platelet count. These methods are frequently used among gastric cancer treatment methods.

3. RADIOTHERAPY:

It is the method used to destroy cancer cells left behind after surgery. After radiation therapy, symptoms such as skin rash, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and fatigue can be seen.

4. IMNUTHERAPY:

This treatment method is applied to the cells of the immune system of the person to find and destroy the cancerous cells. Although this method has some side effects, it is still used and beneficial.

5. NEW GENERATION METHOD OF MEDICINE TREATMENT:

This drug method aims at healing by allowing drugs to attack and destroy cancerous cells directly.

Finally, it should be remembered that not all symptoms you see are a guarantee that you have stomach cancer. In this case, what will be done is to go to the doctor and to detect the disease by getting the tests done.