Stomach cancer advanced stages

Stomach cancer progresses rapidly in 5 stages and the signs are often not clear, it is necessary to detect early for treatment.

Stomach cancer is a condition in which cells in the lining of the stomach grow out of control, forming a malignant tumor. This abnormality progresses to damage the stomach in two forms of vesicles or ulcers. The process of formation of malignant tumors lasts from several months to several years.

According to the American Cancer Society, stomach cancer develops through 5 stages, very difficult to control. Each stage, the degree of invasion of cancer cells is also different.

Stage 0 (early stage) : New cancer cells appear, located in the lining of the stomach. Cancer has not spread to nearby lymph nodes or other parts of the body. The structure of the gastric mucosa has not been reversed.

Doctor, Dr. Vu Truong Khanh - Head of Gastroenterology - Hepatobiliary - Pancreas Department, Tam Anh General Hospital in Hanoi, said that oral endoscopy is currently the best treatment method for stage stomach cancer. early. The doctor removes the entire mucosal area with cancer by mucosal resection or dissection of the stomach lining containing the tumor without partial or complete gastrectomy. Usually, patients do not need additional treatment, the cure rate is over 90%.

However, early gastric cancer is difficult to detect without periodic endoscopic screening. Because the tumor size is very small (from a few millimeters to many centimeters), has not yet affected digestive activities, and does not show clear symptoms , so the psychology of patients is often ignored.

The doctor of Gastroenterology - Hepatobiliary - Pancreas is performing a gastroscopy for a patient. Photo: Provided by the hospital.

Stage one : There is a structural disorder of the stomach lining, so it is also called mucosal cancer. The tumor grows and begins to invade the lining, mucosal or submucosa muscle of the stomach wall. Cancer cells may have spread to one to two nearby lymph nodes.

The treatment for stage one stomach cancer is gastric bypass surgery. Doctors may prescribe the use of a combination of chemotherapy before and after surgery to shrink the size of the tumor, killing cancer cells that are missed.

Stage 2 : Cancer cells have spread deeper into the layers of the stomach. Even penetrates the stomach wall into the serosa and about 7 to 15 lymph nodes, but has not grown to any nearby organs. Surgery to remove part or all of the stomach and surrounding lymph nodes, combined with chemotherapy after surgery is the main treatment.

Stage 3 : Cancer cells have invaded all layers of the stomach, crept deeper into the lymph node system, and have begun to metastasize to nearby organs such as the spleen and colon. Total gastrectomy, combined with radiation therapy and chemotherapy, can reduce symptoms.

Stage 4 : This is the last stage of stomach cancer . Cancer cells have spread to other organs in the body such as the liver, lungs, brain, bones, or peritoneum (the lining of the space around the digestive organs).

At this stage, the disease is more difficult to treat. The goal of treatment is to relieve symptoms and control the growth of the cancer. The doctor will recommend therapies based on the patient's age and health condition. The main methods are adjuvant chemotherapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy.

According to Dr. Khanh, gastric cancer patients have the characteristics of three high and three low, which means high morbidity, metastasis and mortality. But rates of early diagnosis, radical resection and 5-year survival are low.

According to the American Cancer Society, if the disease is diagnosed and treated before metastases outside the stomach, the 5-year survival rate is 70%. When cancer has spread to surrounding tissues or organs and/or nearby lymph nodes, the 5-year survival rate is 32%. In case the cancer has metastasized to distant parts of the stomach, this rate is 6%.

Early screening for stomach cancer is important. According to Dr. Khanh, it is best to screen for stomach cancer in people over the age of 40 even if there are no symptoms. When the disease has shown symptoms, it is no longer in the early stages. The doctor will prescribe gastroscopy, biopsy of suspected lesions, testing of tumor markers... If there are signs of digestive abnormalities such as weight loss, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, bloating after eating , vomiting blood, passing black stools ..., everyone should go to the doctor immediately to detect the disease as soon as possible.

Trinh Mai

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