November is Gastric Cancer Awareness Month

JOIN WITH THE AACR TO FIND BETTER WAYS TO PREVENT AND TREAT GASTRIC CANCER

Gastric cancer, also known as stomach cancer, is a disease in which cancer cells form in the lining of the stomach. The wall of the stomach is made up of five layers of tissue: the mucosa, submucosa, muscle layer, subserosa, and serosa. Stomach cancer typically begins in the cells lining the mucosal layer and spreads through the outer layers as it grows.

An estimated 26,890 new cases of stomach cancer will be diagnosed in the United States and 10,880 people are expected to die from the disease in 2024, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

Most stomach cancers—about 90%—are adenocarcinomas, cancers that form in mucus-secreting glands.

Stromal tumors of the stomach begin in supporting connective tissue and are treated differently from gastric cancer. 

Men are more commonly diagnosed with stomach cancer than women. Moreover, stomach cancer is less frequent among non-Hispanic whites than people of other races and ethnicities. Risk factors include smoking, age, diet, and long-term stomach inflammation, such as infection with Helicobacter pylori bacteria, according to the NCI.

One Person’s Story

Irasema Partida Chavez received a diagnosis of stomach cancer at the age of 34. After two surgeries, she has had no evidence of disease for eight years. Read her story in the AACR Cancer Disparities Progress Report.

What the AACR is Doing in The Area of Gastric Cancer

The AACR is active in supporting gastric cancer research. Grant-supported research projects and other AACR initiatives in gastric cancer research include:

• AACR-Bristol Myers Squibb Cancer Disparities Research Fellowship to Nicole B. Halmai, PhD, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of California, Davis. She is investigating “Genetic ancestry and DNA methylome in gastric cancer among Latinos.”
• AACR-Debbie’s Dream Foundation Career Development Award for Gastric Cancer Research to Heather McGee, MD, PhD, an assistant professor at City of Hope, Duarte, California. Her study is “Radiation-Induced Inflammasome Activation and Alarmins in Gastric Cancer.”

for more information

Please see our page on stomach cancer for more information on this disease and its prevention, screening and treatment.