3 Hospitals For Stomach Cancer In Maryland

Stomach Cancer (click for worldwide facilities list): Although the incidence of stomach cancer has declined dramatically in the United States and Western Europe in the last 60 years, the disease remains a serious problem in much of the rest of the world, where it's a leading cause of cancer death.

This global variation is almost certainly linked to two factors that play a major role in the development of stomach cancer — infection with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) bacteria and diet, especially the type of diet that's high in salted, smoked and pickled foods common in areas that lack refrigeration as a means of preserving food.

Stomach cancer is more readily treated when caught early.
The kind of treatment you receive for stomach cancer depends on a number of factors, including the location of the cancer, how advanced it is, your overall health and your own preferences.

The goal of any treatment is always to eliminate the cancer completely. When that isn't possible, the focus may be on preventing the tumor from growing or causing more harm. In some cases palliative care may be best. Palliative care refers to treatment aimed not at removing or slowing the disease, but at helping relieve symptoms and making you as comfortable as possible.

Types of stomach cancers are :
Adenocarcinoma:
About 90% to 95% of cancerous (malignant) tumors of the stomach are adenocarcinomas. The term stomach cancer, or gastric cancer, almost always refers to adenocarcinoma. This cancer develops from the cells that form the innermost lining of the stomach (known as the mucosa).

Lymphoma
These are cancers of the immune system tissue that are sometimes found in the wall of the stomach.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST)
Rare tumors that seem to start in cells in the wall of the stomach called interstitial cells of Cajal. Some are non-cancerous (benign); others are cancerous.

Carcinoid tumor
These tumors start in hormone-making cells of the stomach. Most of these carcinoid tumors do not spread to other organs.

Stomach cancer treatment options include the following: This is the most common treatment for stomach cancer. Depending on the extent of the cancer, your doctor may remove part (subtotal, or partial, gastrectomy) or all (total gastrectomy) of your stomach as well as some of the surrounding tissue. Lymph nodes near the tumor also are often removed during surgery.

Chemotherapy:
This treatment uses drugs to help kill cancer cells. Injected into a vein or taken orally, chemotherapy medications are often used to eliminate cancer cells that may remain after surgery or to treat cancers that have spread to other parts of the body. Chemotherapy may also be used to control cancer growth, prolong life, or relieve symptoms of advanced disease.

Radiation therapy (radiotherapy):
This therapy uses high-energy X-rays to kill cancer cells. Unlike chemotherapy, which affects your entire body, radiation affects only those parts of your body through which the radiation beam passes.

Antibiotics:
Carefully selected individuals who have H. pylori-associated gastric lymphomas may be cured by antibiotic therapy that eliminates the bacteria causing this cancer.

Targeted drug therapy is a new approach in which a patient takes a class of medications that target a specific genetic mutation within cancer cells but leave healthy tissue relatively untouched. This approach is specifically to treat gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) that contain a specific genetic mutation. Despite promising results in some people, surgery removal remains the primary therapy for this type of cancer.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stomach-cancer/DS00301

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