Here is information about stomach cancer, risk factors, symptoms, screening, early detection, diagnosis, staging, choosing a treatment facility, treatments, chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, molecular testing, genetics, clinical trials, and what's new in the diagnosis and treatment of stomach cancer. If you have any questions, contact our office at (855) 475-1200 or email us at Patient.Resource@DebbiesDream.org. All services are free and we would be happy to help!
Stomach Cancer Overview
Stomach (gastric) cancer – those that begin in the stomach or the junctions of these two organs – is the second leading cause of cancer death in men and fourth among women worldwide. Each year nearly 950,000 people worldwide are diagnosed with stomach cancer, and approximately 700,000 die of the disease. Approximately 28,000 Americans will be diagnosed with stomach cancer each year and over 11,000 will die within a year. While the incidence of stomach cancer has been dropping steadily in this country since World War II, it remains a major global health problem and is estimated to be the fourth most common cancer worldwide and the second leading cause of cancer deaths. Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan, Costa Rica, Peru, Brazil, Chile, and the former Soviet Union all have a very high incidence of gastric cancer. This high incidence is believed to be related to eating a diet consisting of heavily smoked, salted, and pickled foods.
Stomach Cancer Guidelines for Patients
Debbies's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer has partnered with the National Comprehensive Cancer Network to provide the most up-to-date guidelines for patients. NCCN Guidelines for Patients®, patient-friendly translations of the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®), are meant to help patients with cancer talk with their physicians about the best treatment options for their disease.
2023 NCCN Stomach Cancer Guidelines
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Ask the Expert: The Role of Biomarkers in Stomach Cancer
Debbie’s Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer is proud to present an insightful interview with Dr. Samuel Klempner, GI Medical Oncologist of Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and Harvard Medical School, titled "Ask the Expert: The Role of Biomarkers in Stomach Cancer."
In this interview, Dr. Klempner discusses the importance of biomarker testing in the diagnosis and treatment of stomach cancer. Understanding the role of biomarkers can help guide personalized treatment plans and improve patient outcomes.
Watch the full interview to learn more about how biomarkers can impact your care.
Biomarkers Educational Videos
Co-branded with CancerCare and featuring other industry partners, these videos provide invaluable insights, resources, and support to help you navigate understanding your biomarkers with confidence and understanding.
Cancer and the treatments for cancer can cause many side effects that all patients and caregivers should be aware of. Relieving side effects, also called symptom management, palliative care, or supportive care, is an important part of cancer care and treatment. Talk with your health care team about any symptoms you or the person you…
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Survival rates are based on the cancer stages and generally given as a percentage of the patients who are able to survive 5 years or more after they are diagnosed. Patients should be advised that the survival rates are just a general guideline based upon relative survival, which measures the survival of the cancer patient…
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Screening and Early Detection In parts of Asia where stomach cancer is highly prevalent, aggressive screening programs have had some success in detecting early cancers and improving the outcomes. In the United States, there are no effective screening methods and no established programs for primary prevention or early detection. In addition, the symptoms of stomach…
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For cancer patients, caregivers and providers, there is good reason for enthusiasm about the potential research into the cancer genome to help guide more effective cancer therapy. In stomach cancer, there is already a role for specific testing in the care of patients with advanced or Stage 4 disease. There are, however, a number of…
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Most patients diagnosed with cancer will at some point ask the question, “Why did this happen to me?” For the vast majority of patients, however, medical science is unable to provide a satisfying answer to this question. One key exception is when an individual develops cancer due to specific hereditary factors that can sometimes be…
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Surgery Read Complete Content When the cancer is confined to the stomach, surgery is the essential component to all curative treatments for gastric cancer. The goal of surgery for potentially curable stomach cancer is to remove all of the cancer while preserving as much of the patient’s normal gastric function as possible. All stomach cancer…
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Stomach cancer. Light micrograph of a section through an adenocarcinoma of the stomach. Tumour cells are purple, connective tissue is brown. Adenocarcinomas are cancers that arise from glandular tissue in the lining of an organ. This is the most common type of stomach cancer. Its main risk factors are a diet high in salt, infection…
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There have not been any major advances for patients with stomach cancer in recent years, but there are a number of important areas of research that have shown promise and progress in improving the outlook for patients with this disease. Advances have been made in the use of imaging techniques that allow for more precise…
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Be PREPared! If you are PREPared for your doctor visits, you will accomplish a lot more and have more of your questions answered. Here are some tips to help you with your first doctor visit. Make sure to bring the following with you: 1. Medical Records: It is important for your physician to know your…
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