Gastric cancer is a disease that occurs becausepergrowa gastric cell abnormally and uncontrollably. This abnormal cell growth occurs due to: cells undergo gene changeethics.
Gastric cancer rarely causes specific symptoms in its early stages. Symptoms can include abdominal bloating or heartburn, and are often just a complaint of heartburn.
This condition makes gastric cancer difficult to diagnose early, and generally only diagnosed after entering the final stage. This of course will affect the chances of healing.
Causes of Stomach Cancer
Gastric cancer occurs due to genetic changes (mutations) in gastric cells, which causes these cells to grow abnormally and uncontrollably. These cells are called cancer cells.
The cause of the genetic changes in gastric cells is not known with certainty. However, there are several factors that are known to increase a person's risk of developing gastric cancer, namely:
- Smoke
- 55 years and over
- Male gender
- Have a family member with a history of gastric cancer
- Have you ever had gastric surgery?
Gastric cancer is also more at risk for people who have had the following diseases:
- Bacterial infection pylori.
- Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection.
- Chronic stomach ulcers.
- Anemia due to vitamin B12 deficiency.
- Polyps in the stomach.
- Weak immune system, for example due to HIV/AIDS or long-term use of immunosuppressive drugs.
- Other types of cancer, such as lymphoma, esophageal cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer, and cervical cancer.
In addition to these factors, lifestyle and diet can also increase a person's risk of developing gastric cancer. The lifestyle in question is:
- Often eat meat, especially processed meat.
- Often eat processed and high-salt foods.
- Drink alcohol often.
- Not storing and cooking food properly.
- Rarely eat vegetables and fruit.
- Rarely exercise.
- Overweight or obesity.
Stomach Cancer Symptoms
Stomach cancer in its early stages often causes no symptoms. Even if symptoms appear, they are generally considered to be symptoms of an ordinary stomach ulcer. The following are some of the symptoms that can be felt by people with gastric cancer at an early stage:
- Stomach bloating and frequent burping
- Heartburn
- Increased stomach acid (heartburn)
- Get full quickly when you eat
- Nauseous
- Throw up
Advanced gastric cancer will cause more severe symptoms. It is at this stage that new patients generally come for treatment to the doctor. Some of the symptoms of gastric cancer at an advanced stage are:
- Vomiting blood
- Black stools or bloody stools
- Lack of blood or anemia
- Jaundice
- Decreased appetite
- Weight loss
- Body feels weak
- Swelling of the abdomen due to fluid buildup.
When to go to the doctor
If you often experience complaints of stomach ulcers or recurrent indigestion, you should consult a gastroenterologist. The gastroenterologist can perform binoculars (gastroscopy), to see conditions in the stomach.
Vomiting blood or bloody stools can make people with gastric cancer go into shock which can be fatal. Immediately go to the nearest hospital emergency room if you experience these complaints to get immediate treatment.
Gastric Cancer Diagnosis
If there is vomiting of blood, the doctor will treat it first to stabilize the patient's condition. After the patient's condition is stable, the doctor will ask about the symptoms felt, the patient's medical history, and diseases that exist in his family, especially cancer.
Next, the doctor will perform a physical examination of the patient's abdomen to see if there is swelling and pain when the abdomen is pressed. Doctors can also perform a digital rectal examination to detect bloody stools.
To determine whether a person has gastric cancer, the doctor will perform further examinations in the form of:
1. Gastroscopy
Gastroscopy or gastric binoculars is done by inserting a tube-like instrument equipped with a camera into the stomach through the mouth. This tool can help doctors to see the condition of the stomach, as well as take samples of gastric tissue to be studied in the laboratory.
2. Photo X-ray
X-rays can help doctors to see any abnormalities in the lining of the stomach. So that the results are clearer, the patient will be asked to drink a special solution as a coloring agent, before the examination is carried out.
3. Blood test
Blood tests in the laboratory are done to find out if there is an infection Helicobacter pylori, as well as to check the function of other organs, such as the liver and kidneys.
4. Stool test
The doctor may also take a sample of the patient's stool to check for blood in the stool.
5. Ultrasound stomach
Examination using waves ultrasound This aims to see whether gastric cancer has attacked other digestive organs, especially the liver.
6. CT scan
A CT scan is done to determine the development and spread of cancer.
7. Laparoscopic surgery
This examination procedure is done with an instrument like a gastroscopy, but is inserted through a small incision in the abdominal wall. Laparoscopic surgery aims to determine the spread of gastric cancer tissue.
Stomach Cancer Development Stages
Based on the severity and spread, gastric cancer is divided into 4 stages, namely:
- Stage 1At this stage, the cancer is in the inner lining of the stomach cavity and spreads to the surrounding lymph nodes.
- Stage 2At this stage, the cancer has invaded the muscle lining of the stomach and spread more and more to the lymph nodes.
- Stage 3At this stage, the entire lining of the stomach has been eaten away by cancer or many small cancerous growths have spread to the lymph nodes.
- Stage 4The spread of gastric cancer at this stage is getting worse and reaches other organs of the body.
Determination of the severity of gastric cancer can be done through the examinations described previously. Determining the stage will help the doctor to provide the appropriate treatment.
Gastric Cancer Treatment
Gastric cancer treatment methods depend on the stage of cancer and the patient's general health condition. Meanwhile, the chance of recovering from gastric cancer depends on the stage of the cancer when it was initially diagnosed, as well as the health condition and age of the patient.
Types of treatment that can be undertaken include surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and targeted drug therapy. The four types of treatment are often combined, so that the cancer cells in the stomach can be eradicated to the maximum.
Operation
Gastric surgery is performed to remove cancerous tissue from the stomach. The type of surgery performed depends on the stage of the patient's cancer. If the cancer is still in its early stages and has just developed in the inner lining of the stomach, surgery can be performed with the help of gastroscopy.
Another surgical method that doctors can choose to treat stomach cancer is gastrectomy. Through this procedure, the doctor will remove part or all of the stomach affected by cancer.
Gastrectomy is done if the cancerous tissue has spread to other parts of the stomach to the tissues around the stomach. Through a gastrectomy, some of the tissue around the stomach and lymph nodes can be removed.
Surgery, especially gastrectomy, carries a risk of complications such as bleeding, infection, and digestive disorders.
Radiotherapy
Radiotherapy is done to kill cancer cells using special rays. The radiation beam used to kill cancer cells can come from a device that is placed on the skin near the patient's stomach (internal radiation) or using a special radiation device in a hospital (external radiation).
Radiotherapy can be done before or after other cancer treatments. Radiotherapy is performed before the patient undergoes surgery to reduce the size of the cancer. While radiotherapy after surgery aims to eradicate cancer cells that are still left after surgery.
Radiotherapy should be done regularly and the schedule will be arranged by the doctor. Although there is no pain during the radiotherapy procedure, patients may experience side effects afterward, such as diarrhea, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and indigestion.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is a treatment to kill cancer cells through the administration of a number of drugs. Chemotherapy drugs can be in the form of tablets, infusions, or a combination of both. Chemotherapy drugs are usually a combination of 2 or 3 of the following drugs:
- Epirubicin
- cisplatin
- Capecitabine
- Fluorouracil
- Oxaliplatin
- Irinotecan
Chemotherapy will be combined with radiotherapy or surgery. For inoperable, advanced gastric cancer, chemotherapy can help stop the cancer from progressing and relieve symptoms.
Chemotherapy can be done for several weeks to several months. This procedure will cause some side effects, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, anemia, hair loss, and weight loss. Usually these side effects will disappear after chemotherapy treatment ends.
Targeted Drug Therapy
Targeted drug therapy has two functions, namely attacking cells that have genetic mutations into cancer cells, or stimulating the immune system to destroy these cells. Targeted drug therapy can be combined with chemotherapy. Some types of drugs used in targeted drug therapy are:
- Imatinib
- Regorafenib
- Sunitinib
- Trastuzumab
- Rayourcirumab
In late-stage gastric cancer, treatment is usually only focused on reducing symptoms, so the patient feels more comfortable.
Gastric Cancer Prevention
To avoid stomach cancer, you can take the following steps:
- Quit or stay away from smoking.
- Applying a healthy diet, for example eating fiber-rich foods, and reducing salty and processed foods.
- Maintain ideal body weight.
Because the symptoms of gastric cancer are almost the same as some other gastric problems, people generally don't realize it until gastric cancer is at a high stage when diagnosed. According to research, as many as fifteen percent of gastric cancer patients are still alive for at least the next five years after diagnosis and about eleven percent who are diagnosed are still alive for at least the next ten years.