Symptoms of gastric cancer

Written by Liu Liang
Oncology
Updated on September 26, 2024
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Symptoms of gastric cancer include nausea, vomiting, acid reflux, pain in the upper abdomen, and a sense of fullness and discomfort, especially after eating, which are some of the early symptoms. As the tumor progresses, symptoms can worsen, including pain, vomiting of blood, and black stools indicating upper gastrointestinal bleeding. If the tumor is near the pylorus, it can cause pyloric obstruction, which manifests as acid reflux followed by vomiting of undigested food from the previous night. In the late stages of gastric cancer, patients may experience fatigue, weight loss, severe cachexia, and anemia. These are symptoms of advanced gastric cancer.

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Written by Jiang Guo Ming
Gastroenterology
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Is black stool a sign of stomach cancer?

Black stools might suggest stomach cancer, but most cases are not. Often, factors such as diet structure and medications can lead to transient black stools, which are physiological. For instance, consuming animal blood, foods containing pigments, and certain medications like blood tonics and bismuth drugs protecting the stomach lining can cause transient black stools. Once dietary adjustments are made or related medications are stopped, the stool color usually returns to normal. In pathological conditions, such as acute gastric mucosal lesions and bleeding from gastric or duodenal ulcers, black stools can also occur. Thus, the occurrence of black stools might suggest the possibility of stomach cancer, but in most cases, it likely is not.

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Written by Liu Liang
Oncology
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How to check for gastric cancer?

Gastroscopy is very important in the examination of gastric cancer, and taking a biopsy under gastroscopy is an important means of diagnosis. Other examinations include endoscopic ultrasound or enhanced abdominal CT and chest CT to assess the staging of the patient. With endoscopic ultrasound, we can see which layer of the stomach wall the tumor has invaded and then combine it with chest and abdominal CT scans to assess whether there is distant metastasis. Diagnosis requires gastroscopy with a biopsy taken during the procedure.

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Written by Liu Liang
Oncology
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Can stomach cancer be cured? Can stomach cancer be cured?

Early-stage gastric cancer patients can undergo curative surgery, and then decide whether postoperative adjuvant radiochemotherapy is needed based on the specific pathological type and the presence of high-risk recurrence factors. Through these treatments, a cure can be achieved. Generally, if there is no recurrence or metastasis within five years, it is considered cured. For example, patients in stage IA, even without adjuvant chemotherapy, have a relatively high five-year survival rate, generally above 90% after curative surgery. However, if it is found to be advanced-stage, such as initial detection showing distant metastases to the liver, lungs, etc., these patients are primarily treated with systemic chemotherapy or symptomatic palliative care. In such cases, a cure is not achievable. Therefore, whether a cure is possible depends on the stage of gastric cancer and factors such as the patient's basic physical condition.

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Written by Liu Liang
Oncology
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Late-stage symptoms of gastric cancer

The common late-stage symptoms of gastric cancer patients include nausea, vomiting, and even a complete inability to eat. There are also symptoms related to the digestive tract such as pain in the upper abdomen and acid reflux, as well as upper gastrointestinal bleeding, such as vomiting blood and melena which are signs of lower gastrointestinal bleeding. Late-stage gastric cancer patients may also experience organ metastasis, leading to corresponding symptoms. For example, metastasis of gastric cancer to the liver can cause abdominal pain and ascites due to hepatic metastatic tumors. Clinical manifestations caused by such metastatic tumors also include metastasis to retroperitoneal lymph nodes in the abdominal cavity, a common site of spread for gastric cancer. Patients may even show symptoms of intestinal obstruction, such as abdominal pain, bloating, nausea, vomiting, inability to pass stool, or even absence of flatus, which are indicators of intestinal obstruction. Consequently, patients might experience weight loss and deteriorate into a cachectic state, marked by poor nutrition and significant weight loss, which are characteristic symptoms of late-stage patients.

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Written by Liu Liang
Oncology
49sec home-news-image

Symptoms of gastric cancer

Symptoms of gastric cancer include nausea, vomiting, acid reflux, pain in the upper abdomen, and a sense of fullness and discomfort, especially after eating, which are some of the early symptoms. As the tumor progresses, symptoms can worsen, including pain, vomiting of blood, and black stools indicating upper gastrointestinal bleeding. If the tumor is near the pylorus, it can cause pyloric obstruction, which manifests as acid reflux followed by vomiting of undigested food from the previous night. In the late stages of gastric cancer, patients may experience fatigue, weight loss, severe cachexia, and anemia. These are symptoms of advanced gastric cancer.