Gastric Cancer

Early stage gastric cancer may show no obvious symptoms, which are similar to general gastrointestinal discomfort and indigestion. Many patients who show obvious symptoms already have stage 2 or 3 gastric cancer when diagnosed. 

• Indigestion
• Loss of appetite
• Nausea
• Pain in upper abdomen 
• Feeling bloated after eating
• Vomit that includes blood
• Bleeding or black stools
• Weight loss
• Fatigue

Gene mutations in gastric cells cause normal cells to develop into malignant tumors. In addition, studies have found that patients infected with Helicobacter pylori have an increased risk of gastric cancer.

Risk Factors

• Men are at higher risk than women
• Age
• Helicobacter pylori infection
• Smoking
• Drinking
• Genetics
• Eating habits: long-term consumption of high-salt, pickled, and smoked foods

• 胃鏡檢查：醫生將光導管狀的內視鏡經病人的口及食道進入胃部及十二指腸進行檢查，觀察胃壁。如有需要，會抽取組織作病理檢查。
• 影像檢查：正電子電腦掃描能顯示細胞新陳代謝情況，可有效追蹤早期癌細胞病變；電腦掃描可有效偵測極微細的腫瘤及提供腫瘤的立體影像。此外，磁力共振則可清楚顯示軟組織的影像，例如胃壁、胃腔等，三者均應用於診斷胃癌分期及有否出現癌轉移。

胃癌的治療方法

一般來說，手術切除為現時最有效治療方，無論在控制癌症或往後消化功能都有都有較理想的效果。如果能及早發現病情，胃癌患者可以透過手術切除胃部，達到根治的作用。除了早期胃癌， 大部分情況下都會結合兩種療法互補，加強療效，降低復發和擴散的風險。