In gastric cancer, inflammatory processes and the detection of metastases in the lymph nodes are already observed in the last stages. The metastasis itself can be of different types. The difficulty is that not always an increase in the affected node is seen immediately.
The most important for the diagnosis of gastric cancer are lymph nodes, which are in the course of large and small curvature, as well as both glands. It is in them in the first place develop metastases. Then the disease penetrates the liver and other abdominal organs. In some cases, it moves even further, down to the lungs and pleura.
Although at a certain area of the cancer in the stomach, the general localization of the inflammation of the lymph nodes next to it is visible, it is noticed that more often several different swimming pools are affected at once. This is due to the natural developed system of communication between all organs of the abdominal cavity.
The specific forms of lymph node involvement in gastric cancer are also recognized when metastases are found in areas of the body that are unusual for this disease:
- axillary region,
- navel region,
- ovaries,
- paraectal lymph nodes,
- left supraclavicular region.
The last two variants of the development of the disease can be detected by palpation or by ultrasound, and in the ovarian region by laparoscopy and ultrasound. In this case, the defeat of the ovaries affects both organs at once. They sharply increase, become dense and change their color to whitish. In any case, puncture biopsy is used to confirm the inflammation of these areas in stomach cancer. The presence of such markers indicates a late stage of the development of the disease, when the removal of the tumor is doubtful.
With the treatment of gastric cancer, the lymph nodes in which metastases are detected are shown to be surgically removed. Here, several variants of resection are distinguished. So, depending on the course of the disease, they may not be removed at all or only remove the affected areas along the large and small curvature and both glands. In more severe variants, resections may be subject to lymph nodes of the second level, celiac trunk, para-aortic lymph nodes, as well as all those organs that were affected by the tumor.
Lymph node removal surgery is only part of the treatment of stomach cancer. And because of the specific nature of the disease, carrying out any kind of treatment can not be a guarantor of the patient's recovery.