Gastric cancer is a malignant growth that affects the mucous membrane of the stomach. The disease among all cancer diseases in terms of the number of deaths ranks 2 in men and 3 in women. Only early detection of the first signs of stomach cancer and timely treatment can provide the most favorable prognosis until complete recovery.
- Causes Symptoms
- Classification
- Stage
- Complications Diagnosis Treatment
- Surgery Chemotherapy Radiotherapy
- Diet
- Folk remedies
- Prevention
- forecast
reasons
provoke gastric cancer are a variety of factors:
- unbalanced diet.
- Frequent consumption of fruits and vegetables containing a large number of nitrites and nitrates.
- Abuse of alcoholic beverages.
- Smoking.
- Bad ecology.
- Previous chronic diseases: gastric ulcer, atrophic and erosive gastritis.
- Genetic predisposition.
- Hormonal changes and constitutional features( obesity).
Symptoms of
There are no characteristic signs of the disease, but they highlight a number of symptoms that help to identify stomach cancer. There are local and general manifestations of the disease.
Local symptoms include:
- Vomiting, nausea.
- Belching.
- Heartburn.
- Dull pain in the upper abdomen.
- Aversion to some food.
- Decreased appetite.
- Fast saturation during meals.
- Severity after eating in the epigastric region.
- Discomfort in the stomach.
Common symptoms are:
- Excitability.
- Fast fatigue.
- Strong weight loss.
- Irritability.
- Apathy.
- General weakness.
- Increased temperature( observed in advanced stages of the disease).
Classification
The following types of malignant tumors are distinguished by histological feature: mucous( colloidal), solid, fibrous( scirrhous), medullary( cerebral), undifferentiated, fused, squamous, ferruginous, and adenocarcinoma.
By the macroscopic type, the following forms are distinguished:
- Infiltrative( infiltrative-ulcerative and diffuse cancer).
- Limited( mushroom, flat, saucer-shaped and polypous or exophytic cancer).
- Transitional( fibrotic and colloidal cancer).
Depending on the location of tumor formation, the cancer can be:
- of the Cardiac Department( area of the esophageal-gastric junction).
- Body of the stomach.
- The lower part of the esophagus.
- Antrum of the stomach( output department).
- The angulation of the stomach( the area between the duodenum and stomach).
- Total organ damage in infiltrative cancer.
On the cellular structure of malignant education distinguish:
- Highly differentiated species - the affected cells are similar to healthy ones, differ in slow growth rate and metastasis.
- Moderately differentiated species( average degree of difference).
- Low-differentiated species - cancer cells completely differ from healthy ones, grow very quickly and aggressively, earlier metastasize and are characterized by unfavorable prognosis.
By the type of growth of the formation of gastric cancer is divided into intestinal and diffuse type.
to contents ^Stages of
Depending on the extent of the lesion, the size and distribution of malignant formation, gastric cancer is divided into the following stages:
- 0 stage - a tumor of small size, located in the surface layers of the mucosa of the organ and does not affect the lymph nodes and other organs.
- Stage 1 - a cancerous tumor affects the mucous layer, germinating in the submucosa, it is also possible its penetration into the muscular structures of the walls of the stomach. In some cases, cancer cells can be found in several lymph nodes. The characteristic symptoms of this stage are: heaviness in the stomach after eating, aversion to certain foods, empty belching.
- 2 stage - the tumor affects the subserous, muscular, and sometimes serous layer of the organ. Also, cancer cells are found in 15 lymph nodes. The main symptoms of the second stage are burning sensation after eating, vomiting, acute pain, loss of appetite, etc.
- Stage 3 - malignant formation penetrates the entire wall of the stomach and affects a large number of lymph nodes. This stage of the disease is aggravated by sharp pain sensations that give back, internal bleeding is possible.
- Stage 4 - irreversible and uncontrolled process of cancer cells proliferation, their spread to the lymph nodes, neighboring nearby and distant organs and tissues. At this stage, the patient completely refuses food, quickly loses weight, becomes weak, sluggish, he is disturbed by vomiting, severe pains in the abdomen, burning, rubbing, etc.
Complications of
Consequences of stomach cancer arisebecause of necrosis and inflammatory processes in the most malignant formation. In these cases, the following complications are possible:
- Bleeding.
- Perforation of the wall.
- The phlegmon of the stomach.
- Peritumorous gastritis.
- Jaundice, portal hypertension, ascites( with lesion of the hepatic-duodenal ligament and head of the pancreas).
- Intestinal obstruction( with mesentery or transverse root injury).
- Hemorrhagic pleurisy or pleural empyema( complication of carcinomatosis).
- Cachexia( developed due to severe intoxication).
Diagnostics
For the examination of the gastrointestinal tract, instrumental and laboratory methods are used:
- Blood test for specific oncomarkers - are indicated for early diagnosis of cancer.
- Endoscopic Diagnosis( EUS) is a research method that allows early detection of gastric cancer.
- Fibrogastroscopy with biopsy - the most informative method of diagnosis allows you to carefully examine the gastric mucosa and make tissue sampling for histological examination.
- MRI and CT - methods help to identify the presence or absence of metastases in the gastrointestinal tract.
- Ultrasound of the pelvic organs, abdominal cavity, retroperitoneal space and supraclavicular zones is performed in cases of suspected metastatic disease.
- Laparoscopy is necessary to exclude the dissemination of cancer cells through the abdominal cavity.
Additionally, the indications may include: radioisotopic examination of the bones of the skeleton, fibrocolonoscopy, puncture of the tumor, irrigoscopy.
to table of contents ^Treatment
Surgical intervention is the most effective and widespread method of treatment of stomach cancer. Other methods( immunotherapy, radiation and chemotherapy) are used as supportive and auxiliary therapies. To facilitate the condition, especially in the last stages, patients are prescribed analgesics, for example, Tramadol, etc.
to the table of contents ^Surgical treatment of
Surgical intervention involves various types of resections: subtotal and proximal, in which part of the stomach is removed together with lymph nodes and fatty tissue ortotal gastrectomy with the removal of the entire stomach and nearby areas of the esophagus and intestines.
Operation is not possible with inoperable stomach tumors and a number of complications caused by significant metastasis. In this case, the patient is shown preoperative chemotherapy. After the cancerous formation reaches the operative size, an operation is performed.
Palliative treatment for inoperable tumors helps temporarily improve the patient's condition and eliminate obstruction of the alimentary canal.
to table of contents ^Chemotherapy
Even in case of timely removal of malignant formation and lymph glands, the threat of further spread of cancer-affected cells and the appearance of metastases remains. Conducting chemotherapy to prevent relapse leads to an increase in survival rates. It is used even after a complete removal of the tumor of the stomach, in order not to allow relapse.
Many existing regimens are based on the use of 5-fluorouracil, and in some cases in combination with medications such as cisplatin or Adriamycin. Side effects of chemotherapy include vomiting, nausea, weakness, hair loss, stomatitis, diarrhea.
to the table of contents ^Radiotherapy
Diet
Proper nutrition for the diagnosis of stomach cancer is:
- Compliance of the regime: exclusion of long breaks between meals.
- Fractional meals( servings should be small).
- Exclusion from the diet of irritant products( spicy, salty, sour).
- Eating foods that contain large amounts of vitamins and proteins.
- Steam cooking, quenching or boiling.
The list of useful products for stomach cancer includes:
- Greens, including tops of young radishes, beets, dandelion and nettle shoots.
- Fruits and vegetables( especially useful are root vegetables and fruits of green, yellow and red flowers).
- Fresh juices from carrots and red beets( diluted with water).Vegetable mashed soups.
- Boiled porridge of pumpkin or cereal.
- Fresh, low-fat cottage cheese. Omelettes steamed.
- Herbal tea and green tea.
- Vegetable oil.
- Mineral still water.
Prohibited products are:
- Smoked meat, marinades.
- Red meat. Sauces from tomatoes.
- Mushrooms.
- Vegetables causing gassing( beans, peas, cabbage).
- Products containing "fast carbohydrates"( sweets, pastries, sweets, etc.).
- Coffee, strong tea, alcohol.
- Animal fats, etc.
Folk remedies
- Chaga( birch fungus) slows down, sometimes stops the growth of cancers and prevents the development of metastases. Pieces of mushroom should be poured with boiled water and let stand for 4-5 hours, then grind it in a meat grinder or on a grater. The remaining water is heated to 500C and put in it chopped chaga at a rate of 1: 5( 1 glass of mushroom for 5 glasses of water).Insist 2 days and strain. Obtain the medicine with boiled water to the original volume and use 3 cups a day in small portions.
- The root of the snake mountaineer has astringent, hemostatic and anti-inflammatory properties. When stomach cancer is recommended, the root of the mountaineer is taken together with the chaga. To do this, 3 tablespoons of chopped root and mushroom should be poured with alcohol or vodka( 0.5 liters) and put in a dark place for 14 days. Drink ready to infuse 1 tablespoon from 3 to 6 times a day.
- Plantain has a healing, hemostatic and analgesic effect, it should be taken in the form of freshly brewed tea. Handful of herbs pour 2 cups of boiling water and insist for 15 minutes. It is also useful for stomach cancer to drink plantain juice.
- Soda in the treatment of gastric cancer restores the metabolism in all cells, blocks the loss of potassium, normalizes the acid-base balance, and also promotes resorption of the malignant tumor. Therapy starts with 1/5 teaspoon of the product, which is taken on an empty stomach 30 minutes before breakfast. Gradually, the indicated dosage should be increased to 0.5 teaspoon. Soda is allowed to take no more than 3 times a day, and it is important to know that during 30 minutes after eating the procedure is prohibited.
In addition, cancer is treated with medicinal herbs such as celandine, roots of ara, burdock, wormwood, as well as propolis, cabbage juice, etc. In folk medicine there are many recipes for the treatment of stomach cancer, however, to use anyfrom them it is possible only after consultation of the doctor.
to contents ^Prophylaxis
- Complete and correct diet.
- Refusal from bad habits( smoking, alcohol).
- An annual examination of the stomach, especially for people who have previously been diagnosed with chronic gastritis or peptic ulcer.
- Timely treatment of precancerous conditions: anacid gastritis, gastric polyposis, ulcers.
Forecast
The five-year survival rate for gastric cancer depends on the stage of the disease development and according to statistics is:
- 0 stage - 90%.
- 1st stage - 80-90%.
- 2nd stage - 50-55%.
- Stage 3 - 20-25%.
- Stage 4 - 7% of cases.