Stomach cancer
Stomach cancer is quiet in its early stages, which is exactly why the early signs matter. Caught early it is far more treatable, and a gastroscopy is how it is caught.
Also known as: Gastric cancer · Cancer of the stomach
Understanding stomach cancer
Why it hides early
Early stomach cancer produces symptoms that are indistinguishable from ordinary indigestion: mild discomfort, bloating, a little nausea, a bit less appetite. Nothing about them says anything is seriously wrong.
By the time the more obvious symptoms appear, such as weight loss, vomiting or difficulty swallowing, the disease is usually more advanced. This is the entire argument for taking persistent new indigestion seriously in older adults rather than treating it indefinitely.
Understanding stomach cancer
Risk factors
Several factors raise risk, and the most important one is treatable:
- Long-standing H. pylori infection, the single most important modifiable risk factor
- Chronic gastritis and changes in the stomach lining over many years
- A diet heavy in salted, smoked or preserved foods and low in fresh fruit and vegetables
- Smoking, and heavy alcohol use
- Being over 50, and being male
- A family history of stomach cancer
- Previous stomach surgery, or pernicious anaemia
Understanding stomach cancer
Symptoms to know
The pattern that should prompt an endoscopy is new, persistent upper abdominal symptoms in someone over 45, or symptoms at any age accompanied by an alarm feature.
Watch particularly for indigestion that does not respond as expected to treatment, early fullness after small meals, a gradual loss of appetite, unintended weight loss, difficulty swallowing, or an unexplained low blood count that suggests slow bleeding.
Understanding stomach cancer
How it is diagnosed
Gastroscopy is the definitive test. It lets us see the stomach lining directly and take biopsies from anything abnormal, which is what establishes the diagnosis.
Where cancer is confirmed, staging scans determine how far it has spread, and the case is discussed with surgeons and oncologists to plan treatment. Being inside a teaching hospital matters here, because that whole team is on the same campus.
Understanding stomach cancer
Treatment and outlook
Treatment depends on the stage. Very early cancers confined to the lining can sometimes be removed endoscopically. More established disease is treated with surgery, often combined with chemotherapy, and sometimes radiotherapy.
The single greatest determinant of outcome is stage at diagnosis. Early-stage stomach cancer has a substantially better outlook than advanced disease, which is why we scope people over 45 with new persistent symptoms rather than treating blindly.
Understanding stomach cancer
Reducing your risk
Not all risk is modifiable, but a meaningful part of it is:
- Get tested and treated for H. pylori if you have ulcer-type symptoms or a family history
- Stop smoking
- Reduce salted, smoked and heavily preserved foods; increase fresh fruit and vegetables
- Keep alcohol moderate
- Do not ignore persistent new indigestion after 45
Common questions
What are the early signs of stomach cancer?
Early disease often causes only mild indigestion, bloating, early fullness or slight loss of appetite. New, persistent indigestion after 45 is the pattern most worth investigating.
Does H. pylori cause stomach cancer?
Long-standing H. pylori infection is the most important modifiable risk factor for stomach cancer, though the great majority of people who carry it never develop it. Clearing the infection reduces risk.
Who should have a gastroscopy to check?
Anyone over 45 with new persistent upper abdominal symptoms, and anyone of any age with alarm features such as weight loss, difficulty swallowing, vomiting blood or unexplained anaemia.
Acid reflux and GERD
Occasional heartburn is normal. Reflux that returns the moment you stop medication, or has run for years, is worth examining rather than medicating indefinitely.
Peptic ulcers
Stress and pepper get the blame for ulcers in Nigeria. The real causes are H. pylori infection and anti-inflammatory painkillers, and both are treatable once identified.
H. pylori infection
H. pylori is a bacterium carried by a large share of Nigerian adults. Most never know. In others it causes ulcers, chronic gastritis and years of unexplained stomach pain.
Talk to the unit
This page is general information, not a diagnosis. If it describes you, a short consultation decides what, if anything, you need. Call +234 707 056 6272 or message +234 707 056 6272 on WhatsApp.