Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, develops when cancer cells are found in any part of the five layers of the stomach. Cancer may extend through the stomach wall to nearby lymph nodes and to other organs, such as the liver, spleen, pancreas, and colon.

Most stomach cancers begin in the mucosa--the innermost layer of the stomach where the stomach acid and digestive juices are made. As the cancer progresses outward through the layers, the prognosis gets worse.

The American Cancer Society estimates that about 21,260 new cases of stomach cancer will be diagnosed in the United States in 2007. Many of those cases are in the Stage IV category. Stomach cancer occurs most often in people in their 60s and 70s.

Most stomach cancers--90 to 95 percent--are classified as adenocarcinomas (cancers that develop from cells that line the walls of many different organs of the body). Other types of stomach cancer include squamous cell carcinoma, lymphoma, and stromal tumors (cancer of the muscle or connecting tissue). A rare gastrointestinal cancer, carcinoid tumors, develops when malignant cells are found in certain hormone-making cells of the digestive (gastrointestinal) system, or in the inner lining of this system.

Our Services

Patients who come to SCCA with a diagnosis of stomach cancer will benefit from leading edge treatments, improved outcomes of therapy, and strong cancer prevention programs created from decades of research. The doctors at SCCA are very involved with the National Cancer Institute and institutionally sponsored clinical trials, and can offer you innovative therapies that many people don't have access to.

For a virtual tour of the SCCA clinic, click here.

For more information about the SCCA's services, please call the Patient Intake Office at (206) 288-SCCA (7222).

February 2007