There are about 680,000 newly diagnosed gastric cancer cases in China every year, accounting for half of the global incidence. Moreover, more than 80% of gastric cancer patients are already in the middle and late stages when they are diagnosed, which means the five-year survival rate drops to less than 20%, and in 2015, for example, about 498,000 Chinese people died of gastric cancer. As long as gastric cancer can be detected early, the five-year survival rate can be as high as 90%. It is not that there are no “alarm signals” in the early stage of gastric cancer, but it is easy to be confused with common gastric diseases, resulting in patients missing the opportunity of early treatment. The following 5 “alarm signs” of stomach cancer need extra vigilance. 1. Pain and discomfort in upper abdomen. More than 80% of gastric cancer patients will experience pain and discomfort in the upper abdomen, which is similar to indigestion in the early stage, and the abdominal pain is mild and irregular, and cannot be relieved after eating. 2.Loss of appetite and loss of appetite. One third of patients with gastric cancer described that they had obvious signs of not wanting to eat or loss of appetite before the disease, mainly manifested as a feeling of fullness soon after eating, sometimes accompanied by belching, which led to the patient having to reduce the amount of food eaten, and this inexplicable loss of appetite would make the patient uninterested even in the food they like to eat. In the later stages of the disease, the loss of appetite will be manifested as anorexia, especially an aversion to meat. 3.Loss of weight and weakness. No matter what kind of tumor, in the early stage of cancer cell growth process, it needs a lot of nutrients and energy, which will lead to other normal tissues of the body not being able to obtain nutrition, thus manifesting as obvious emaciation. People with chronic stomach disease should be extra vigilant if they have obvious wasting within a short period of time. 4.Fixed mass. Some patients with early gastric cancer can feel a fixed mass in the right side of their upper abdomen, which is usually hard and not smooth, and painful when pressed. 5. Vomiting blood and black stool. As the tumor grows, it will destroy the small blood vessels in the stomach, so it will show the symptom of occult blood in the stool. However, if the invaded blood vessels are larger, it will cause vomiting blood upward and black stool, such as tar-like, downward. Regardless of whether one belongs to the group with high incidence of stomach cancer or not, it is recommended that each person should have a gastroscopy after the age of 40. Gastroscopy is not done every year, and if nothing happens in the first year, it can be checked again in 2-3 years intervals.