At the beginning of the last century, stomach cancer was the most common cancer in people. With the increase in smoking, lung cancer has surpassed stomach cancer and ranked first. Lung cancer is still the most common cancer. An unexpected decrease in the incidence of stomach cancer began after the Second World War. There was also a rapid decrease in deaths due to stomach cancer. Although medicine apparently does nothing new for the prevention or treatment of stomach cancer, this decrease in stomach cancer was initially found very surprising. Over time, changes in food storage conditions, increased use of refrigerators at home, and decreased consumption of salted meat were accepted as the reasons for the decrease in the frequency of stomach cancer. The decrease in the incidence of stomach cancer continued due to the understanding that the Helicobacter pylori microbe is one of the main causes of stomach ulcers and stomach cancers and the fight against this microbe with antibiotics. Today, the incidence of stomach cancer has fallen to one-third of what it was in the last century.
As the incidence of stomach cancer decreased, changes began to be observed in the starting point of stomach cancer in the stomach. While cancers near the stomach exit were very common in the last century, there has been an increase in cancers near the stomach entrance and involving the esophagus in recent years. This change in the location of involvement of stomach cancers is attributed to reflux disease and meals eaten late at night.
There have been changes in the treatment of stomach cancer in recent years. With the widespread use of gastroscopy, the rate of early diagnosis has also increased. More lymph nodes are beginning to be removed in stomach cancer surgery. It has also been proven that preventive chemotherapy and radiotherapy administered after surgery reduce deaths due to stomach cancer.
Today, post-operative chemotherapy and radiotherapy applied simultaneously with chemotherapy in patients with lymph node involvement are considered standard treatment in the treatment of early stage stomach cancer. However, during these applications, serious side effects that may cause patient loss may occur. Fever, diarrhea, mouth sores, nausea, vomiting If complaints such as sma occur, the treatment team must be informed.
Although there are changes in the treatment of advanced stage stomach cancer, its contribution to the survival of patients has not yet reached a few years. Although it has been very successful in preventing stomach cancer, the same success has not been achieved in its treatment, especially in advanced stages. Therefore, in stomach cancer, as in other cancers, early diagnosis is the key to success in treatment. If there are digestive problems that do not respond well to treatment, gastroscopy should be performed.
Healthy nutrition and eliminating the helicobacter pylori microbe resident in the stomach with antibiotics are the most important measures to reduce the risk of stomach cancer.
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