Whether you or someone you love has been diagnosed or you’re looking to learn more, understanding stomach cancer can help you feel more informed about what comes next. Explore the basics of stomach cancer, common terminology, survival statistics, and trusted resources to help you better understand the disease.
Stomach Cancer Overview
Stomach cancer, also called gastric cancer, remains a significant health challenge in the United States and around the world. In 2026, an estimated 31,510 people in the United States will be diagnosed with stomach cancer, and 10,740 will die from the disease. Stomach cancer accounts for approximately 1.5% of all new cancer diagnoses in the United States.
While progress has been made, outcomes vary greatly depending on how early the disease is found. The overall five-year relative survival rate for stomach cancer is 39.8%. When diagnosed while the cancer is still localized to the stomach, the five-year relative survival rate is 78.1%, compared with 8.1% when the cancer has spread to distant parts of the body.
Stomach cancer is more common in men than women and occurs at higher rates among several racial and ethnic populations compared with non-Hispanic White populations. These differences reinforce the importance of increasing awareness, understanding risk factors, advancing prevention and early detection, and improving access to care.
Stomach (Gastric) Cancer Survival Rates
Survival statistics describe outcomes among large groups of people and cannot predict what will happen for any individual. Age, overall health, characteristics of the cancer, available treatments, response to treatment, and many other factors can affect an individual’s experience.
According to the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program:
| Extent of Disease | Cases Diagnosed at Stage | 5-Year Relative Survival |
|---|---|---|
| Localized — confined to the primary site | 32% | 78.1% |
| Regional — spread to regional lymph nodes | 23% | 39.0% |
| Distant — cancer has metastasized | 35% | 8.1% |
| Unknown — unstaged | 9% | 33.6% |
*These statistics are based on people diagnosed during 2016–2022 and will continue to change as treatments, research, and care advance.
Source: National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program, Cancer Stat Facts: Stomach Cancer. 2026 estimated new cases and deaths are American Cancer Society projections presented by SEER. Survival statistics are based on SEER 21 (excluding Illinois), 2016–2022.
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.