Gastric cancer

Gastric cancer accounts for approximately 6% of all cancer deaths in the United Kingdom, a percentage that comprises almost 10,000 people. Most gastric cancers are sporadic, but a familial inherited component may be responsible for up to 10% of cases. The importance of detecting gastric cancer at an early stage is undeniable, but there is controversy on the merits of open-access endoscopy in low-incidence countries such as the United Kingdom. In gastric cancer, amplification of the receptor tyrosine kinases appears to occur in a mutually exclusive fashion, and is commonly associated with increased stage, adverse clinical and pathological variables and a poor therapy-independent prognosis. In the Western world, 60%-70% patients with gastric cancer are diagnosed with advanced disease and the majority that undergo initial curative treatment will ultimately relapse. Cytotoxic chemotherapy is an effective palliative treatment for advanced gastric cancer, providing symptomatic and quality-of-life benefits and prolongation of survival.