Detect stomach cancer with only vague symptoms

Stomach cancer is a fairly common disease, with the third highest mortality rate after liver cancer and lung cancer.

Mr. L., 88 years old, discovered late stage stomach cancer with only symptoms of constipation and difficulty defecating, and had laparoscopic gastrectomy to prevent complications.

Stomach cancer is a fairly common disease, with the third highest mortality rate after liver cancer and lung cancer.

Mr. L. (address in Ho Chi Minh City) has been eating normally and has not lost weight, although he has some other diseases such as coronary artery stenosis, diabetes, Parkinson's, and lipid disorders.

As a result of a computed tomography (CT) scan with contrast, doctors discovered that Mr. Loi had a large tumor in the stomach (about 6 cm) in the final stage, in the body of the stomach, invading the left liver, showing signs of anemia.

In this case, surgery is needed to remove the tumor to resolve bleeding caused by the tumor as well as prevent dangerous complications caused by the tumor.

For elderly patients, when deciding to remove most of the stomach, doctors must consider very carefully, affecting the patient's quality of life after surgery.

However, if surgery is not performed, there is a risk of bleeding causing anemia, pyloric stenosis (obstruction of the gastric outlet) or stomach perforation, peritonitis.

During laparoscopic surgery, the doctor found a large tumor in the stomach that was causing bleeding, showing signs of invading the left liver, a peritoneal nodule suspected of metastasis, clear fluid in the abdomen, and many enlarged lymph nodes along the major blood vessels.

The endoscopic surgery took place in a tense and difficult 5-hour period due to the large tumor. The doctor removed part of the liver that had been invaded by the stomach, removed most of the stomach, and dredged the surrounding lymph nodes.

Post-operatively, the patient recovered quite well. Three days after surgery, the patient practiced eating liquid foods, practiced physical therapy, and was discharged after 1 week. The patient was scheduled for a follow-up visit and continued taking medication to treat the underlying diseases he was experiencing.

Doctor Nguyen Quoc Thai, Head of the Department of Digestive Surgery, Center for Endoscopy and Endoscopic Surgery of Digestive Surgery, Tam Anh General Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, said that bleeding complications due to stomach tumors occur in about 10% of stomach cancer patients.

Gastric bleeding is a complication that can occur at any location of the stomach tumor, ranging from mild, slow bleeding to severe, massive bleeding.

If not treated promptly, it can cause complications of acute blood loss, requiring emergency surgery, and can lead to death.

In this case, because the disease was detected at a relatively late stage (stage 4), the large tumor caused bleeding, so surgery could resolve the bleeding and prevent complications, but it was not radical. Elderly patients find it difficult to combine multimodal treatment such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and targeted therapy.

Stomach cancer is a fairly common disease, with the third highest mortality rate after liver cancer and lung cancer. If stomach cancer is detected early, the treatment process is simple and the survival rate is high. However, according to Dr. Thai, stomach cancer often develops silently, with many cases having only vague symptoms.

Currently, stomach cancer can be detected early by flexible endoscopy with biopsy. Thanks to that, doctors will do some tests to diagnose and classify the stage of stomach cancer to give appropriate treatment.

In Vietnam, less than 5% of stomach cancers are diagnosed at an early stage. According to statistics, the rate of advanced stomach cancers missed during endoscopy is from 5 - 10% of cases.

The process of early cancer screening endoscopy must ensure that no lesions are missed when the patient fasts 6-8 hours beforehand, takes foam and mucus-dissolving medicine 15-20 minutes before the endoscopy, and the anesthesia time is enough for the doctor to observe, take pictures, and record all positions according to regulations.

Clinical examination and thorough medical history help doctors make a comprehensive assessment and choose appropriate indications. In particular, digestive endoscopy with the support of modern equipment, flexible endoscopes with high-resolution cameras, magnifying hundreds of times helps experienced doctors quickly detect and cure patients at an early stage, avoiding cancer progression that affects the health and quality of life of patients.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/phat-hien-ung-thu-da-day-chi-voi-trieu-trung-mo-ho-d218581.html