As medical practice shows, about forty-five thousand lives annually in Russia take away stomach cancer. This disease is in second place in terms of spread and death in the structure of oncological pathology. About two times less often women are sick than men. At the same time, the risk of developing oncology increases with age.
Stomach cancer. Causes
The main factors provoking the development of the tumor should include:
- drinking alcohol;
- improper and irregular nutrition;
- smoking;
- abuse of spicy and excessively hot food;
- heredity.
As a rule, an oncological disease occurs on the gastric mucosa, which has undergone pathological changes (in the areas of polyps, ulcers, erosions, scars).
The classification of the disease is carried out in accordance with the location. So, cancer of the body of the stomach, its antrum or cardiac section is determined. The disease can take various forms. The most common include polypoid, mushroom, nodular, saucer-shaped, diffuse, ulcerative-infiltrated tumors. According to the structure of cells, the squamous type, carcinoma, adenocarcinoma , etc. are distinguished.
Signs of stomach cancer may not appear for some time. However, then the disease begins to progress. In the absence of serious symptoms, slight first signs of stomach cancer may be noted. They are usually expressed in weight loss, the occurrence of a sense of discomfort, anemia, depression, decreased performance, sleep disturbance, appetite, which in some cases turns into an aversion to food. Given these nonspecific signs of gastric cancer, the disease can be detected in the initial stages.
With the growth of the tumor, pain and heaviness in the epigastric region occur . Signs of gastric cancer with narrowing of the lumen of the organ are manifested in rapid saturation with small portions of food, belching, nausea, vomiting.
Often the development of the tumor is accompanied by complications in the form of bleeding, vomiting with blood streaks or "coffee grounds" appears, as well as melena - black stools.
The severity of symptoms depends on the location of the lesion.
Signs of stomach cancer in its cardiac section are characterized by dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), pain behind the sternum, and salivation. The tumor of the body of the organ, as a rule, is asymptomatic. Only nonspecific signs of cancer intoxication can indicate the presence of the disease.
The defeat of the antrum (outlet) of the department is characterized by violations in the process of evacuation of food into the intestine. Typical is persistent vomiting, which provokes severe dehydration and exhaustion of the body.
The basis for the diagnosis of the disease is considered a general examination of the patient. Patients are characterized by pale and flabby skin, emaciation, and a stomach in the shape of a ball. On palpation, a tumor is often palpated.
X-ray of the stomach using a barium contrast suspension allows you to accurately detect the presence of cancer. In addition, this examination gives objective results in the analysis of violations of the evacuation functions of the body.
For visual detection of cancer, fibrogastroduodenoscopy is used. This study also allows you to conduct a biopsy, to evaluate the shape and size of the tumor.
When using computed tomography, it is possible to identify not only the degree of damage, but also the involvement of surrounding organs and tissues in the process.
Ultrasound examination allows you to diagnose metastases in the pancreas and liver.
As a treatment for a cancerous tumor, only the radical method is used - surgical intervention.