Oncological diseases take hundreds of thousands of lives a year. According to the prevalence of cancer, one of the first places is malignant lesions of the stomach, taking place in different forms.
If the pathology is diagnosed at the first stage, then the chance of recovery is more than 80%.Therefore, it is important to determine in time the initial signs presumably indicating cancer and undergo a comprehensive examination conducted by modern diagnostic methods.
How to identify the disease for the first symptoms of
Almost any growth of cancer cells, regardless of the location of the tumor at the initial stages, does not cause obvious changes in health. This completely applies to cancerous lesions of the walls of the stomach.
The very first manifestations, indicating the possible formation of a cancerous tumor in the stomach, include:
- Disturbances in the digestive process. With the development of a tumor, a person begins to feel periodically nausea, bloating, heartburn or belching with air. The cancerous process in the stomach causes a decrease in appetite, which can be manifested by the intolerance of a certain product and most often this meat. Patients are disturbed by constipation, followed by diarrhea.
- A marked decrease in the operability of , lethargy, depressive state, problems with sleep.
- Periodic rise in body temperature.
- Weight loss.
- Discomfort sensations at the top of the abdomen , they are expressed by a feeling of heaviness, bursting.
- Pain. Soreness does not appear immediately and at first it quickly passes. By the nature of pain can be aching, pulling, cutting. There are pains in stomach cancer, often regardless of food intake, and they can be localized not only in the epigastric region, but also in the projection of the pancreas, just above the navel. Often pains are given in the back and in the upper chest.
The spread of the tumor to the greater part of the organ results in the narrowing of its cavity, and this in turn becomes the primary reason for the rapid onset of saturation.
When malignant neoplasm is located next to the esophagus, it is possible to develop difficulties in swallowing food. The tumor blocking the exit into the intestine, prevents the passage of the food lump and then the person is almost always worried about the feeling of heaviness. To get rid of it it is possible, only having caused a vomiting.
Digestive disorders change the functioning of all the organs of the digestive tract, which leads to a deterioration in metabolism. In cancer patients, the tongue is lined with a grayish or yellowish coating, an unpleasant odor from the mouth may appear. The development of a malignant tumor is indicated by the appearance of tarry stools and vomiting with blood.
The symptoms listed above are also present in many other diseases. Therefore, one should not panic, revealing even most of the signs of cancer. A reliable diagnosis can be made by specialists only on the basis of a number of diagnostic procedures performed, but it is not necessary to delay the examination.
How to diagnose stomach cancer in the early stages?
Detection of the disease at the earliest stage allows oncologists to select the most effective treatment.
If you have unusual symptoms and with a noticeable and unmotivated deterioration of well-being, you should always go to a medical institution.
The doctor must describe all his feelings, indicate the time of their appearance and growth.
Based on the examination and questioning, the doctor prescribes the necessary tests and instrumental methods of examination, which makes it more likely to confirm or exclude cancer.
Special attention to your health and the appearance of unusual symptoms should be paid to those people who already have or had polyps of the stomach, peptic ulcer, chronic gastritis.
Anemia is considered a precancerous disease. Patients with these diagnoses need at least twice a year to do a control examination of the body.
Palpation
Palpation or palpation of the neoplasm with the fingers is one of the oldest methods of medical examination. In the early stages, the stomach tumor can hardly be probed, it is possible only when the growth is about the size of a walnut.
In order to properly carry out such a diagnosis, other conditions must be met, such as:
- The patient's stomach must not be filled with food. Therefore, palpation is carried out before meals, beforehand you can take a laxative.
- Palpation is performed in several positions. The patient alternately takes a pose on the left and right side, on the back. Need palpation and standing.
- Palpation near a number of organs. Tumors in the projection of the stomach can come from the liver, pancreas, spleen.
Cancerous tumors usually do not cause pain when palpation, their edges are uneven, bumpy to the touch. Neoplasm can be either soft or dense, almost firm. It is more difficult by palpation to detect tumors located on the back of the organ.
Gastroscopy
The method is also designated by the term EGDS.This is one of the most frequent methods of examination used to examine people with symptoms indicating a malignant or inflammatory lesion of the walls of the stomach.
Gastroscopy is performed by inserting a thin tube - a gastroscope - into the patient's stomach through the throat. Previously, to reduce pain, irrigation of the throat with lidocaine and the administration of sedatives in injections are possible.
Gastric cancer at visual examination looks like a fungus, cone, intestinal formation or ulcer with an uneven, deep bottom and lacerated borders. The place of localization of pathological changes is necessarily determined.
Gastroscopy is also necessary for the collection of altered tissues for histological examination. During the survey, it is possible to obtain video and photo information.
Screening of
The term screening refers to a set of preventive measures designed to identify dangerous diseases at an early stage.
Screening for gastric cancer involves the conduct of EGDS.This method of examination is assigned to patients at risk for possible cancer. They include patients who have a history of precancerous and chronic diseases of the stomach.
Gastroskopiyu advised to do with vague symptoms and accruing pain, people with poor heredity. The time-based method takes no more than 15 minutes, after evaluation of the results obtained, additional diagnostic methods are assigned.
X-ray examination
Radiographic examination of the stomach is performed with a contrast agent - barium.
This substance is distributed on the mucous membrane of the esophagus, stomach and small intestine with a thin film, it delays X-rays, and in this way all pathological changes can be examined in detail.
The x-ray of the stomach allows to determine the localization of a cancerous tumor, its magnitude, the clarity of the boundaries of the tumor and a number of changes characteristic of malignant neoplasms.
Biopsy
Biopsy is a study of the biopsy specimen obtained under laboratory conditions. A biopsy when suspected of stomach cancer is usually taken with gastroscopy and these are pieces of tissue from several pathologically altered sites.
Samples of tissues under laboratory conditions are stained and inspected under a microscope, trained specialists easily distinguish normal cells from atypical ones - cancerous ones.
Based on a histological examination, a form of cancer is exhibited, which is indispensable for the doctor to be able to guess how the disease will develop further and what treatment will be most effective for the patient.
Biopsy is currently performed in the computed tomography. At this type of examination, the tumor is identified with the most accurate localization and the doctor under the control of the pictures can insert a needle to take biological material to the desired place.
Computed tomography
CT diagnostics is the receipt of layered images of the organ. When carrying out this method of diagnosis, an assessment is made of the thickness of the walls of the stomach, the extent of the cancer tumor spread across all layers of the organ, the size and location of the tumor.
Computed tomography can additionally be given with a contrast agent, it facilitates the detection of pathologically altered foci.
PET-CT
PET-CT is an innovative diagnostic method, decoding as positron emission tomography. The method is based on the introduction of a radioactive indicator into a vein. This indicator reacts to the increased metabolism and therefore gets to places of accumulation of cancer cells.
PET-CT allows you to determine the functional changes at the cellular level, which helps to recognize the cancer process at the earliest stage of its development in the stomach.
PET imaging is also necessary for elucidating the ways of metastasizing gastric cancer, secondary foci with this method of diagnosis are also found at the very initial stage of their development.
Laparoscopy
Laparoscopy is usually prescribed to patients already when the diagnosis of stomach cancer is established.
A similar study is needed to identify secondary foci in the abdominal cavity and pathological changes in the lymph nodes.
When carrying out laparoscopy, it is also possible to take the modified pieces of tissue for histological examination.
Laparoscopy does not present any difficulties during the procedure.
After anesthesia on the side of the abdominal wall, a minimal incision is made, the size coinciding with the laparoscope. At the end of the laparoscope, there is a miniature video camera, with which the entire internal picture is displayed on the monitor screen.
Endoscopy
Endoscopy for gastric cancer is a gastroscopy. With the help of the inserted endoscope, the doctor carefully examines the cavity of the organ and determines the shape of the cancer by endoscopic signs.
These attributes include the size of the formation, its location in the cavity of the stomach, the presence of ulcers, the clarity or blurring of the boundaries of the pathological change.
Modern devices allow all data to be stored in the computer, which further allows you to accurately determine whether the tumor is growing and whether it is treatable.
Blood tests
If you suspect a cancer, blood tests are also required.
Study of stool and vomiting for concealed blood
Analysis of feces for latent blood determines the violation of the integrity of the mucous membrane of the digestive tract. This method is used as an additional examination, confirming the disease of the stomach.
Before the collection of feces, the doctor must warn the patient about diet compliance, about the refusal of some medications. A reliable positive test is considered if the blood shows a two-time analysis.
Vomiting is performed whenever possible. Usually a Guaiac test is performed, showing even traces of blood.
Genetic examination
The hereditary predisposition to malignant tumors of stomach cancer is indicated by the definition of an atypically altered( mutated) CDH1 gene in humans. A similar study is recommended for those people in a family who have had cases of stomach cancer.
Magnetic resonance imaging
MRI diagnostics is performed on a special tomograph. The principle of obtaining data from the device is based on the interaction of radio-frequency pulses and magnetic fields.
Photo of the diagnosis of stomach cancer using mrd
Previously, the patient should drink a contrast agent. After preparation, it is placed in the tomograph and takes several pictures, the procedure takes about 30 minutes. Clear images, obtained in three projections, allow to reveal all changes in the organ.
In addition to the stomach itself, the nearest lymph nodes and nearby organs are examined.
Ultrasound and RTD
Ultrasound diagnosis is assigned to assess the spread of the cancerous process by internal organs. When examining women, gynecological ultrasound should be performed, as the cancer in the stomach can lead to ovarian failure.
RKT examination is an X-ray computed tomography. When suspected of stomach cancer, it is performed to examine organs in the abdominal cavity and the entire retroperitoneal space.
The RCT method reveals neoplasms, secondary foci located near the stomach and distantly.
Differential diagnosis of gastric cancer symptoms
Gastric cancer does not have those symptoms that are characteristic only for this type of disease. Similar manifestations can accompany cancer and peptic ulcer, cancer and benign tumors.
Similar symptoms have some forms of chronic gastritis in the stage of exacerbation. Therefore, modern diagnostic procedures are extremely necessary in order to correctly and quickly identify cancer at the zero and the first stages of its development.
Video on the preparation for the diagnosis of stomach cancer: