Types Of Gastric Tumors
Gastric tumors are a result of stomach cancer, and there are several types of gastric tumors. It is the most common types of cancer in the world with more than 800,000 deaths as a result of different types of gastric tumors. Gastric tumor occurs frequently in men than in women and older people are mostly the victims of this type of cancer. The following are the different types of gastric tumors that have been diagnosed both in men and women:
Adenocarcinoma
This is one of the most common types of gastric tumors. They begin at the mucosa (at the stomach walls) and multiply and extend to other parts of the stomach. When the cancer cells expand, it results to a number of developments.
* The gastric tumor might spread deeper into the stomach walls passing through the stomach walls and invading other closer organs such as liver or pancreas.
* The tumor might spread down or up the stomach and affect the small intestine or gullet (esophagus).
* It may equally result to the spread of the cancer cells to the bloodstream or lymph channels and subsequently spread to the lymph nodes. The adenocarcinoma is one of the deadliest types of gastric tumors that affect older individuals.
About 96% diagnosed cases of gastric tumors are adenocarcinomas. This entails that the cancer begins from the gland cells in the walls of the stomach as the gland cells produce stomach juices and mucus.
Types of gastric tumors – Squamous cell carcinoma
This one begins at the skin and is equally handled just like the adenocarcinomas. They form a stomach lining as they lie between gland cells in the stomach wall.
Types of gastric tumors – Lymphoma
This type of gastric tumor is rare but very deadly. They affect the stomach walls and can spread to nearby areas such as the liver.
Gastrointestinal stromal tumour
These types of gastric tumors can either be benign or cancerous. They are rare and mostly grow from the cells of the connective tissues that support the gastrointestinal tract. The gastrointestinal tumor always occurs in the stomach.
Types of gastric tunhtmors – Neuroendocrine tumours
These ones develop from tissues that produce hormones, particularly those in the digestive system. Though they are rare, they can be malignant. The most common type of neuroendocrine tumors is carcinoid tumor.
What are the causes of the different types of gastric tumors?
A gastric tumor begins at the abnormal cell, but the exact reason why a cell becomes cancerous is still not clear. It is believed that something alters or damages some genes in the cell to cause a tumor in the cell. The makes it malignant and spreads to other parts of the stomach. In some cases, there might not be a known cause for these tumors, but some risk factors can considerably increase the chance of its occurrence. These factors include:
* Aging: when people grow older, their body cells become weak, making them more susceptible to gastric tumors.
* Diet: it is known that people that eat too much smoked foods or lots of salt are more prone to have gastric tumors
* Those with pernicious anemia: People suffering from pernicious anemia always have deficiency of vitamin B12, which can increase the risk of gastric tumors.
