Stomach cancer with metastases is an extremely dangerous and insidious disease that is very difficult to detect in the early stages. Nausea and pain in the abdomen can indicate the development of an ulcer or gastritis, so people with such diagnoses may not always be suspected of having a more serious pathology. And in some cases, stomach cancer appears without any symptoms at all. There is only one way out - if you want to protect yourself, regularly undergo gastroscopy and give up addictions.
What is this disease
Gastric cancer begins with lesions of the mucosa, and then metastases appear quite quickly, which cover nearby organs, sometimes even lungs. In Russia, pathology is rarely diagnosed in the early stages, partly due to the lack of experience with doctors and lack of medical equipment, partly due to the fault of the people themselves who stubbornly do not want to do their health. As a result, stomach cancer with metastases occupies the second place in the mortality rate of oncology patients: about 12% of men and 10% of women die from it.
As for prevalence, in Russia stomach cancer is in fifth place among oncological pathologies. According to statistics, the incidence rate is approximately 28%. More often, pathology is diagnosed in men. Moreover, the main number of patients surpasses the fifty-year milestone. The only consolation is that in recent years, the incidence rate has begun to fall.
Cancer can cover different parts of the stomach - upper, lower and middle. Usually, the appearance of a tumor is preceded by precancerous conditions, which are accompanied by a change in the structure and functions of the cells inside the organ. As a result, polyps, an ulcer, a chronic form of gastritis with low acidity occur.
Pathology is characterized by an increased tendency to the early appearance of many distant foci. In gastric cancer, metastases most often affect the liver and lymph nodes. In addition, the lungs, brain, muscle tissue can be involved in the pathological process. With its development, the activity of many vital organs is disrupted, which as a result leads to the death of the patient.
How many live with cancer of the stomach with metastases? On average, a person’s life with such a diagnosis is reduced by about 15 years. But this indicator is individual and depends, for the most part, on the timeliness of diagnosis and the start of treatment.
Doctors give pretty favorable forecasts regarding tumor survival in the stomach, if the pathology is diagnosed in the early stages. In such situations, after a course of therapy, survival reaches 5 years or more. But with gastric cancer with grade 4 metastases, the prognoses are not so rosy. Patients with this diagnosis usually do not live longer than 2-3 years.
Causes of the disease
So far, the specific prerequisites for the development of cancer are not known. But one thing is certain for sure: the abnormal degeneration of cells does not occur suddenly. For this, the presence of other pathologies and the sequential or parallel effect of provoking factors on the stomach are necessary.
In people suffering from diseases of the digestive tract, cancer can arise on the background of reflux gastritis, which appears on the background of the release of alkaline contents from the duodenum into the stomach. In addition, the likelihood of the appearance of a tumor increases several times 5-10 years after surgery in the tissues of the organ.
There are other reasons for the development of gastric cancer with metastases. They can be found individually and as a whole.
- Helicobacter pylori. Doctors have long proven that this infection, which can survive in an acidic environment, is often the primary cause of ulcers and gastritis. And according to statistics, it is these diseases that often lead to the onset of cancer. The bacterium injures the mucous membrane, which is why hydrochloric acid present in the gastric juice affects unprotected structures and walls of the organ. As a result, ulceration and erosion occur in the stomach. Long existing ulcers represent a favorable environment for the development of cancer cells.
- Eating some foods. Excessive amounts of fried, smoked, fatty, spicy, canned and salty on the menu significantly increase the likelihood of cancer. According to numerous studies, in countries in which this pathology is most common, people consume too many starchy foods. Lack of diet, frequent overeating, especially at bedtime, fast, rare snacks - all this systematically overloads and weakens the stomach, leading to the development of various diseases.
- Ingestion of nitrites and nitrates. These components, which have chemical activity, can damage the gastric mucosa, penetrating the structure of cells and provoking their degeneration. Sources of nitrates and nitrites are most often ordinary vegetables. The increased content of chemicals harmful to the human body is associated with the use of nitrogen fertilizers and other errors in the growing process. True, harmful substances can also be found in beer, tobacco, dried and smoked products, cheeses, and even cosmetics.
- Drinking and smoking. In addition to the fact that alcohol contains all the same nitrites and nitrates, ethyl alcohol, which causes acute erosive processes in the stomach cavity, is considered to be a strong provocative of cancer. As for smoking, its destructive effect has been repeatedly proved: the longer a person uses cigarettes, the higher the risk of stomach cancer.
- Prolonged use of medicines. Anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics and corticosteroids are considered dangerous for the stomach.
- The effect of radiation. Abnormal cell degeneration is often associated with radiation exposure.
The risk group includes people suffering from obesity, having undergone surgery on the digestive tract, having tumors of other organs or a genetic predisposition to the disease.
What leads to cancer
As already mentioned, the tumor does not appear spontaneously. She is always preceded by some kind of disease. All these pathologies adversely affect the gastric mucosa, causing the appearance of an epithelium uncharacteristic for this organ.
- Polyps. They degenerate into a malignant neoplasm in approximately 30-50% of all cases.
- Anemia due to a lack of vitamin B12. This element plays an important role in the formation of all cells, and especially the tissues of the stomach.
- Chronic gastritis. Some types of this pathology can provoke cell death. And Menetrie's disease leads to an abnormal proliferation of the epithelium.
- Ulcer. The frequency of its transition into the tumor is 5-12%.
The first symptoms of pathology
In the early stages, stomach cancer is almost impossible to notice, especially if it proceeds against a background of an ulcer. But if you carefully pay attention to your health, you can still detect pathology in time.
Stomach cancer at any stage has the characteristics that are characteristic of any oncology:
- rapid fatigue;
- chronic weakness;
- weight loss for no apparent reason.
In addition, other symptoms may speak about the development of the pathological process:
- discomfort in the stomach after a meal, for example, bloating or a feeling of fullness;
- frequent nausea, slight salivation, vomiting;
- dull, aching or pulling pains in the affected area - may appear after eating or regardless of food intake;
- loss of appetite for no apparent reason;
- frequent heartburn, difficulty swallowing fluids and food;
- vomiting of stagnant or bloody foods, as well as loose stools of black color - an occasion to call emergency care.
Stages
Doctors distinguish 4 stages of gastric cancer with metastases. The higher the degree of development of the anomaly, the easier it is to identify the pathology, the more intense the symptoms and the less chance the patient has for survival.
- Zero stage. With this disease, only the mucous membrane is affected. In this case, cancer treatment may be limited to endoscopic intervention under general anesthesia. Usually a further forecast is almost always favorable.
- 1st stage. The tumor penetrates deeper and promotes the formation of metastases in the lymph nodes around the organ. Survival at this stage reaches about 70-80%, however, such cancer is very rarely detected.
- 2 stage. The neoplasm does not cover only the muscle tissue of the organ, there are always metastases in the lymph nodes. 5-year survival for detecting this degree of cancer is approximately 56%.
- 3 stage. Not only the walls of the stomach, but also the lymph nodes are involved in the pathological process. Such a pathology is diagnosed quite often. That's only 5-year survival in such a situation is found only in 20-38% of people.
- 4 stage. Cancer of the stomach with metastases that are detected in the pancreas, peritoneum, large vessels, ovaries, liver and even lungs. 5-year survival is found in only 5% of patients. Unfortunately, grade 4 gastric cancer with metastases is most often diagnosed.
As you can see, the picture is pretty scary. Even a complete cure does not always bring a positive prognosis: stomach cancer with metastases is prone to relapses, which cannot always be eliminated by surgical intervention.
Features of metastasis
Gastric cancer is accompanied by the rapid onset of metastases in various organs. There are two main ways of metastasis - hematogenous and lymphogenous.
Metastases spreading through the lymphatic system have their own names:
- Schnitzler - in pararectal lymph nodes.
- Virkhovsky - in the supraclavicular region.
- Irisha - in the axillary lymph nodes.
- Kruckenberg - into the ovaries.
- Mary Joseph - to the navel.
Hematogenous metastasis usually occurs in the lungs, brain, kidneys, but much more often in the liver. Cancer of the stomach with metastases to the adrenal gland and pancreas is much less common.
The presence and number of pathological foci determines the type of surgical intervention and medications used during chemotherapy. The further prognosis and life expectancy of the patient also depends on this.
Diagnostics
Identifying grade 4 gastric cancer with metastases is not so difficult. But with the diagnosis of other stages of the pathology, problems often arise. If the patient's history has a large number of risk factors and a genetic predisposition, doctors resort to additional methods of examination.
- Analysis of feces for the presence of occult blood is the simplest diagnostic method that allows you to identify pathology even in the initial stages of development.
- Gastroscopy - makes it possible to carefully examine the mucous membrane of the digestive tract and perform a biopsy.
- Contrast fluoroscopy - reveals many signs characteristic of a tumor in the stomach.
- Ultrasound of the abdominal cavity - used to diagnose the neoplasm itself and metastases.
- CT - makes it possible to detect cancer, but is much more often used to detect metastases.
- Laparoscopy - used to determine small metastases in the abdominal cavity.
- A blood test for tumor markers - is only informative in half the cases.
Treatment of metastasis and stomach cancer
At the first stage, surgery is most often performed - complete removal of the organ or its resection. This allows you to eliminate a number of signs, alleviate the condition of a person and increase the duration of his life.
Then the affected lymph nodes and organs in which metastases are found are removed. After the intervention, if necessary, radiation or chemotherapy is performed.
It is not worth delaying the operation, especially if the patient has gastric cancer with grade 4 metastases. How long a person will live depends on how quickly the intervention was performed, how lymph nodes and the tumor were removed.
Features of the operation
Before the appointment of a surgical intervention, the patient must undergo all necessary examinations: a study of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems, an assessment of the general state of health, and the presence of contraindications. The volume of operation depends entirely on the stage of the cancer of the stomach.
- At stage 1, doctors usually manage to completely remove the neoplasm. During the intervention, a special study is carried out, which allows you to determine whether the tumor particles remained. If necessary, the volume of operation increases.
- At stages 2 and 3, the organ is resected or completely removed. Nearby lymph nodes are also often removed - this is necessary to prevent metastasis.
- At the 4th stage of gastric cancer with metastases, treatment is carried out to normalize the patency of the digestive system and reduce the size of the neoplasm. Such an intervention does not lead to recovery, but significantly improves the quality of life of a sick person.
Nutrition for gastric cancer with metastases
Immediately after determining the diagnosis, the doctor prescribes a therapeutic diet for the patient. It is necessary for:
- stopping weight loss;
- reduce the risk of complications during the rehabilitation period;
- increase immunity;
- improving the regenerative abilities of the body.
Patients with gastric cancer should follow only a few rules:
- food should be baked, stewed or boiled;
- every day the menu should include fresh fruits, vegetables or juices from them;
- per day should be 5-6 meals.
Diet may vary, depending on the stage of therapy. After undergoing chemotherapy, a person is advised to consume as many fresh fruits and juices as possible.