Stomach cancer

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Stomach cancer, or known as gastric cancer, is known to affect East Asians much more than western populations. Main risk factors for stomach cancer are Helicobacter pylori infection, high salt diet, smoking, presence of intestinal metaplasia (abnormal change in stomach lining) and family history of stomach cancer. 

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Symptoms of stomach cancer include stomach pain, persistent nausea or vomiting, indigestion, difficulty swallowing food, loss of appetite, passing out blood in stool (either black or reddish stool) or unexplained weight loss. Some patients do not have much symptoms but have low blood count (anaemia) on blood test. 

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Best way to detect or diagnose early stomach cancer is by performing a gastroscopy to visualise the lining of stomach which is where stomach cancer usually arises from. Other methods such as Barium meal X-ray or CT scan can only detect more advanced stage stomach cancer. 

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