Gastric cancer is a terrible oncological disease, in which a malignant tumor develops rapidly from healthy cells of the gastric mucosa. According to the incidence rate, the disease is on the fourth place, and on the death rate on the second. Such disappointing figures are due to the fact that the disease at an early stage of development is poorly diagnosed, and in the latter stages can no longer be cured. It turns out to be a vicious vicious circle: before he gets sick, the patient melts before his eyes and dies in terrible pain. All this only tells us that we need to monitor our health and seek help in a timely manner, noticing that even the most insignificant signs of the disease are present. In order not to start the disease of cancer, we suggest to watch the video and look at the photos and pictures that are located on the page.
The disease is quite common. Most often it overtakes patients after the age of 40 - 45 years, although it is not excluded that disease is detected in those who are just under 30. After 70 years, cases of disease detection become more rare. Considering the geographical spread of this cancer, medical statistics indicate that the majority of patients with this diagnosis in Chile, Japan, Iceland, Finland, Brazil, Russia. Noticeably a decrease in the number of patients in countries of Western Europe and the United States. The least cases of fixing the disease in the regions of Central Asia.
The disease can develop in any part of the stomach. Most often, malignant cells affect the antrum and pyloric section, much less they achieve a small curvature of the stomach, posterior and anterior walls, and cardia.
Stages and forms of stomach cancer
Physicians identify four degrees or stages of stomach cancer. Each of them has its own specific features:
- Stage 1: the tumor only begins to form. Its dimensions do not exceed 2 cm, but the edges are clearly limited. The neoplasm is located on the submucous base of the stomach or in the thickness of the mucous membrane. Metastases are not formed at this stage.
- Stage 2: a tumor of the second degree increases to 4 - 5 cm. It sprouts through the muscular membrane of the stomach, but does not yet destroy its serous cover. It can be found in 2 - 3 lymph nodes located side by side.
- Stage 3: the size of the tumor of the third degree becomes even greater, it sprouts through all the walls of the stomach, its cells have already reached the connective tissue located in the neighborhood with it, while the mobility of the stomach is limited. There are numerous metastases in the lymph nodes.
- Stage 4: the size of a tumor of the fourth degree is difficult to predict. It gives metastases not only to nearby organs, but also to distant ones, it affects the vessels.
There are two forms of stomach cancer:
- exophytic cancer is diagnosed when a malignant tumor is detected in the lumen of the stomach;
- infiltrative cancer is located along the walls of the affected organ.
Given the severity of the disease, at each stage of stomach cancer, the prognosis for recovery is not the same. If, at an early detection of the disease, surgery is possible to remove the tumor, then at the fourth stage of the disease, surgical intervention is powerless and only supportive and analgesic therapy is performed.
Causes of stomach cancer
Medicine is constantly studying the causes of stomach cancer. It can not be said that they are not established, but it is not easy to detect all of them in order to prevent the development of the disease, therefore, it is possible to conditionally identify the main predisposing factors and causes of stomach cancer:
- Alimentary factors can cause gastric cancer. This includes malnutrition of the person, constant interaction with chemically dangerous substances and excessive consumption of medicines, vitamins containing an unacceptably high amount of microelements. The presence of at least one of these factors contributes to the destruction of the epithelial layer on the surface of the stomach. This allows carcinogenic substances to penetrate into healthy cells, which in the future will cause their degeneration.
- Alcohol abuse, prolonged addiction to smoking, also leads to the formation of a tumor in the digestive tract.
- Available chronic diseases of the digestive system. This includes all kinds of gastritis, peptic ulcer. Causes of the development of cancer can be the presence in the stomach of pathogenic microorganisms, which cause some diseases. Such harmful bacteria include Helicobacter, which, releasing toxic products of vital activity, destroys the gastric epithelium, which leads to the appearance on its walls of tongue and erosion.
- Genetic factors are not excluded from the number of causes that cause stomach cancer. It is noted that in many families, where someone already suffered from the disease, it appears not only in the next generation, but also in a few. With genetic predisposition, those who have blood group A( II) are the most vulnerable to the disease.
- Environmental factors are also considered to be responsible for the development of stomach cancer. In soil, air contains a huge amount of harmful substances that enter food, infecting a person.
- Duodenogastric reflux is considered to be the etiological factor of malignant tumor development. With its presence, the contents of the duodenum are thrown into the stomach, which causes metaplasia. Especially dangerous are frequent reflux, which can occur after resection.
- Geographic factors can also affect the presence of the disease. It is noted that the disease of stomach cancer is more common not in the southern, but in the northern countries. Emigrants who migrated from these countries experience more frequent illness than the indigenous population. However, in the same region in different territories the incidence rate is not the same.
- The lack of immunoglobulins in the blood can also cause illness.
Signs and symptoms of stomach cancer
At each stage of development of this cancer, there are symptoms of stomach cancer, some of which are visible in the photo. Quite often at first it is asymptomatic or its first signs are very scarce and atypical. This complicates its timely detection and proper medical care. Often doctors mistakenly diagnose gastritis or ulcer and prescribe conservative treatment. It is worthwhile to carefully examine the patient, because the clinical manifestations of the disease also depend on the size of the tumor, the location of its location, the histological structure of the tumor.
Conditionally, physicians distinguish early local signs of stomach cancer and its common symptoms and manifestations at different stages. The first signs of the disease include:
- decreased appetite;
- frequent belching;
- nausea, vomiting;
- pain in the abdominal region( first aches brief, then constant dull);
- appearance of a black liquid stool;
- severity in the stomach, discomfort after eating;
- rapidly developing dystrophy.
The following are common symptoms of stomach cancer:
- permanent weakness;
- lack or decline in performance;
- is depressed;
- fast fatigue;
- unexplained excitability;
- apathy to everything that happens;
- gastrointestinal bleeding.
Diagnosis of stomach cancer
At the first suspicion of the presence of cancer, gastric cancer diagnosis should be performed to confirm the diagnosis. Palpation is not the most reliable method of examination to detect a tumor. The most common diagnostic methods include studies using instrumental and laboratory methods:
- Ultrasound of all organs of the digestive tract, abdomen and liver, in order to accurately determine the location of the malignant tumor;
- magnetic resonance therapy for the detection of metastases;
- gastrointestinal oncomarkers for the detection of cancer-embryonic antigen in the blood;
- computed tomography for determining metastases and sites of tumor localization;
- fibrogastroduodenoscopy for internal examination of the stomach and biopsy;
- X-ray study of the stomach allows you to obtain additional information about the size of the lesion and the boundaries of the tumor.
Patient may be assigned laboratory stool studies. According to the results of these studies, the presence of latent blood in the feces is determined, which is also an indirect confirmation of the development of the disease.
In addition to the examination of the gastrointestinal tract, a mandatory examination of women at the gynecologist is conducted to exclude the presence of a tumor on the organs of the reproductive system. In addition, respiratory organs are examined to exclude or reveal complications of the disease.
Treatment and prevention of stomach cancer
The most effective method of treating gastric cancer is surgical intervention. His character depends on the degree of illness. The size of the tumor, its location, the presence of metastases affect the course of the operation. For the removal of a cancerous tumor, three types of surgery can be proposed:
- gastroectomy;
- subtotal resection;
- resection of the upper third of the stomach.
These types of care are effective when there is no metastasis. If detected on other organs or in lymph nodes, a combined operation is performed, which involves not only removal of the stomach, but also partial or complete removal of the affected organs.
For the treatment of stomach cancer, chemotherapy and radiation therapy are used. Chemotherapy can be performed without surgery, when there is no possibility of surgical removal of education. In such cases, the cure for the disease does not occur, only for a while the growth of metastases is suspended, the patient's condition is alleviated, life is prolonged. After surgery, chemotherapy is performed to completely remove metastases and for the further prevention of the disease. Radiation therapy( radiotherapy) for the treatment of stomach cancer is rarely used, since its effectiveness is extremely low with extensive organ damage by cancer cells.
At an early stage of the disease in some cancer centers, patients are offered modern radical treatments:
- intraoperative intraperitoneal hyperthermia chemoperfusion;
- targeted therapy;
- gene therapy.
All these interventions in the life of the patient are not easily transferred to him, so it is necessary to properly prepare for surgery and restore the body in the postoperative period.
Cure this disease is almost impossible, so you need to think about the prevention of stomach cancer. A number of activities include:
- regular annual GI examination;
- timely treatment of gastrointestinal diseases that cause a precancerous condition;
- proper nutrition;
- complete rejection of bad habits.
Nutrition for stomach cancer and after surgery
If a patient has stomach cancer, the diet should be adjusted by the attending physician or an experienced nutritionist. From the diet will have to completely exclude some products:
- rich meat and fish broth;
- alcohol;
- marinades;
- black tea and coffee;Pickles
- ;
- mushroom dishes;
- drinks containing carbon dioxide;
- greasy food;
- canned food;
- unripe fruit,
- berries;
- fried food.
Eating a patient should not be scanty in its range, but it is necessary to follow a diet for stomach cancer. In the diet, you must enter healthy foods that must be properly cooked. On the patient's desk after surgery, there may be:
- mashed vegetable mashed potatoes and cereals;
- vegetable and milk soups;
- berry compotes;
- steam omelettes;
- rubbed low-fat cottage cheese;
- vegetable oil;
- herbal tea;
- soups with a mucous consistency;
- mineral water.
Food during the diet should be crushed. The patient should eat 4 - 5 times a day, taking food in small portions. All food should be freshly prepared.
The prognosis of stomach cancer can be very different. If a disease of 1 degree is found, then recovery is possible in 90 - 95% of cases with proper treatment. The last stage of the disease with a large number of distant metastases does not give a chance for a full recovery, but the patient can extend life from six months to a year with the support of the body with special procedures.