Gastric Cancer / Cancer Of The Stomach

The stomach is part of the digestive system. It is located in the upper abdomen, under the ribs on the left side. The upper part of the stomach connects to the esophagus, and the lower part leads into the small intestine.

The stomach is shaped like the letter J. Nearby the stomach are organs such as the liver, left kidney with left adrenal gland, pancreas, colon, and spleen.

The clinical term for cancer of the stomach is gastric cancer.

Approximately 24,000 new cases of gastric cancer are diagnosed each year in this country. And there are about 700,000 new cases diagnosed worldwide.

The disease is found most often in people over age 55. It affects men twice as often as women, and is more common in black people than in white people.

Also, stomach cancer is more common in some parts of the world -- such as Japan, Korea, parts of Eastern Europe, and Latin America -- than in the United States.