Stomach cancer – also known as gastric cancer – is the fifth most common cancer worldwide. Almost a million cases of stomach cancer are diagnosed annually and this accounts just under 10% all cancer. The average age at diagnosis in the United States  is 72 years. Stomach cancer is the third most common cause of death from cancer. Symptoms often only appear at a late stage, which contributes to a poor prognosis. In Europe and the US the five-year survival rate of stomach cancer is about 25 to 28 per cent.  Globally, overall incidence rates of stomach cancer are declining. This is attributed to a decrease in Helicobacter pylori infection and the use of refrigeration to preserve foods rather than using salt.

This report links alcohol, processed meat and obesity to gastric cancer. Additionally, “the report…finds more typical causes: smoking, eating food preserved with salt, and infection with a bacteria called Helicobacter pylori.”

“The review concludes that in the United States, about one in seven stomach cancer cases could be prevented if people did not drink more than three alcoholic drinks a day, did not eat processed meat and maintained a healthy weight.”

 

Source: Stomach-Cancer-2016-Report.pdf