Early gastric cancer is defined as a tumor confined to the mucosa and/or submucosa of the gastric wall (i.e., confined to the innermost two layers of the gastric wall), with or without lymph node metastasis. It can be simply understood that the growth of early gastric cancer is still superficial in the gastric wall, and the treatment outcome is generally good at this time. Most early gastric cancers can be cured endoscopically.
However, about 80% of patients with early gastric cancer have no clinical symptoms. The Chinese Anti-Cancer Society recommends that people can recognize the early warning signs of gastric cancer by the changes in their own feelings and symptoms. Stomach cancer may give the following signals in its early stages.
- Unexplained loss of appetite, weakness and significant weight loss;
- Patients with previous gastric diseases (e.g. gastritis, gastric ulcer) have abdominal pain that loses the regularity of previous ulcer attacks and is not relieved by meals or medication, but worsened;
- Persistent black stools, pale complexion, and weakness;
- Abdominal discomfort, indigestion, irregular or unformed bowel movements more than 5 years after previous gastric surgery.
The above symptoms are some of the “signs” of early gastric cancer, but are often mistaken by patients as aggravation of gastric disease. For those who have a family history of stomach cancer or other gastrointestinal tumors, the appearance of these symptoms without stomach disease, or the change or worsening of existing stomach disease symptoms, should be alerted and should go to the hospital early for specialized examination. The 5-year survival rate of early gastric cancer can be as high as 95% or more after resection.