Stomach cancer is characterised by abnormal cell growth that begins in the stomach. The stomach is a muscular sac in the upper middle of the abdomen, just below the ribs. Your stomach receives and holds the food you eat before breaking it down and digesting it.
Stomach cancer also referred to as gastric cancer, can develop anywhere in the stomach. Most stomach cancers develop in the main part of the stomach in the majority of the world (stomach body).
It’s unclear what causes stomach cancer, but research has identified a number of risk factors. Doctors know that stomach cancer starts when a cell in the stomach’s DNA changes. A cell’s DNA contains the instructions that tell the cell what to do. The changes instruct the cell to grow quickly and to live when healthy cells would die. Cells clump together to form a tumour, which can invade and destroy healthy tissue. Cells can break off and spread (metastasize) to other parts of the body over time.
You can lower your risk of stomach cancer by doing the following:
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