1.Early stage gastric cancer: more than 70% of the patients have no obvious symptoms. As the disease develops, non-specific symptoms similar to gastritis or gastric ulcer may gradually appear, including upper abdominal fullness and discomfort or hidden pain, acidity, belching, nausea, occasional vomiting, loss of appetite, indigestion, positive fecal occult blood or black stool, unexplained weakness, emaciation or progressive anemia, etc.
2.Progressive gastric cancer (i.e. middle and late stage gastric cancer): symptoms are pain in the stomach area, often biting, not obviously related to eating, but also similar to peptic ulcer pain, which can be relieved after eating. Feeling of fullness and heaviness in the upper abdomen, anorexia, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, emaciation, anemia, edema, fever, etc. Cardia cancer mainly manifests as discomfort and pain under the saber, pain or pain behind the sternum, accompanied by obstruction to eating or difficulty in swallowing; cancer of the fundus and subcardia often has no obvious symptoms until the tumor is huge and necrotic ulceration causes bleeding in the upper gastrointestinal tract, or when the tumor infiltration extends to the cardia causing difficulty in swallowing; cancer of the body of the stomach is more common in the distended type, with pain and discomfort appearing later; cancer of the less curved side of the gastric sinus is most common in the ulcerated type. When the tumor extends to the pylorus, it can cause nausea, vomiting and other symptoms of pylorus obstruction. When the cancer spreads, it may cause ascites, hepatomegaly, jaundice and metastasis of lung, brain, heart, prostate, ovary and bone marrow, etc., and the corresponding symptoms may appear.
Physical signs of gastric cancer patients
Most of the patients with gastric cancer have no obvious physical signs, and some of them have mild pressure pain in the upper abdomen. When the tumor infiltrates into the neighboring organs or tissues, the lump is often fixed and cannot be pushed. When liver metastasis occurs in gastric cancer, nodular masses can be palpated in the enlarged liver. Obstructive jaundice may occur when the metastatic mass in the abdominal cavity compresses the common bile duct. In case of pyloric obstruction, dilated gastric pattern can be seen in the upper abdomen and the sound of tremors can be heard. In advanced gastric cancer with pelvic implantation, nodules can be found in the rectal fossa of the bladder (uterus) on rectal finger examination. Ascites may appear when there is peritoneal metastasis. Small intestine or mesenteric metastasis narrowing the intestinal lumen may lead to partial or complete intestinal obstruction. Peritoneal irritation symptoms such as abdominal stiffness and abdominal pressure pain may occur when the cancer perforates and causes diffuse peritonitis, or it may infiltrate adjacent cavities and form internal fistula.
Environmental and dietary factors
The marked differences in incidence between countries and regions suggest an association with environmental factors, the most important of which is dietary. Excessive intake of salt, salted foods with high salt content, smoked fish, and nitrosamines are factors associated with gastric cancer, as well as moldy foods containing more fungal toxins and rice covered with talcum powder after processing. In addition, there are also studies that show that stomach cancer is related to nutrient imbalance. Frequent consumption of moldy food, salted vegetables. Pickled and smoked foods, as well as excessive consumption of salt, can increase the risk. Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables. Use of refrigerator and proper storage of food can reduce the occurrence of stomach cancer. H. pylori infection. H. pylori disease includes gastritis, peptic ulcers, and lymphoproliferative gastric lymphoma caused by H. pylori infection. The poor prognosis for H. pylori disease is gastric cancer. Gastric cancer may be the result of a combination of long-term H. pylori infection and other factors, of which H. pylori may play a predisposing role.
Genetic factors
The incidence of gastric cancer is higher in certain families. The incidence of gastric cancer in relatives of patients with gastric cancer is four times higher than that of normal people.
The main risk factors for gastric cancer are
1. Those who eat high salt, smoked products and salt-pickled foods for a long time have a role in promoting the occurrence and development of gastric cancer.
Bad eating habits, such as eating fast, hot food and not eating three meals a day on time, etc.
2. Those who suffer from atrophic gastritis, gastric ulcer, gastric polyp, intestinal chemosis, pernicious anemia and residual stomach after most of the gastric resection have the risk of cancer.
3.People with family history of gastric cancer.
4. Those who are over 40 years old and have untreated gastric disease, and those with A blood type and the above factors are more likely to develop gastric cancer.
Early warning signs of stomach cancer.
1.Superior abdominal fullness and discomfort, hidden pain or change of pain pattern.
2.Panic acid, belching, loss of appetite, nausea, burning in the stomach and epigastric region, diarrhea and black stool.
3.Unexplained weight loss and significant wasting.
4.A person over 50 years old with no past history of stomach pain or gastric disease who develops stomach symptoms for a short period of time. Those who have recovered well from benign diseases of the stomach many years ago and have had most of the stomach removed, and have recently experienced indigestion, epigastric pain, nausea, vomiting, black stools, and markedly reduced health status.
Although these symptoms do not mean that you have stomach cancer, you should go to the hospital for a detailed examination when the above symptoms do not subside.