Dr Vincent Osoka, General Surgery Resident at University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, has emphasised that reducing intake of smoked meats and exposure to tobacco smoke can lower the risk of developing gastric cancer.
Osoka made the remark on Thursday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan.
He said regular upper gastrointestinal surveillance was necessary for those with inherited conditions that increase the risk of gastric cancer.
According to Osoka, stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, occurs when normal cells in the stomach lining begin to grow and divide uncontrollably, resulting in the formation of a tumor.
This tumor, he adds, can penetrate deeper into the stomach wall and may spread to other organs.
‘Gastric cancer is biologically aggressive, with high rates of recurrence and mortality; it is the fourth most common type of cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide.
‘The major risk factors for gastric cancer include both environmental and genetic factors.
‘Helicobacter pylori infection is associated with an increased risk of developing stomach cancer.
‘This bacterium has been linked to peptic ulcer disease. It is important to clarify that not all upper abdominal pain is due to gastric ulcers.
‘Many Nigerians mistakenly assume that any epigastric pain is caused by a gastric ulcer and often self-administer antacids,’ he said.
He advised that it was crucial to investigate such symptoms further to rule out the possibility of gastric cancer.
The medical expert noted that high-salt foods, particularly from salted or smoked meats, along with a low intake of fruits and vegetables, had been linked to an increased risk of stomach cancer.
According to him, the increase in refrigeration over the past 70 years has likely contributed to a decrease in gastric cancer rates by reducing reliance on salt preservation of meat and allowing for the increased storage and consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables.
‘Tobacco smoke is another known risk factor for gastric cancer.
‘Gastric cancer is also associated with several rare inherited disorders, including Hereditary Diffuse Gastric Cancer, Familial Adenomatous Polyposis, Li-Fraumeni Syndrome and Lynch Syndrome’.
On some of the symptoms, he said: ‘The symptoms are typically nonspecific, which often leads to a diagnosis at a more advanced stage of the disease.
He cautioned people not to trivialise abdominal symptoms and to consult a specialist for evaluation.
Osoka explained further that gastric cancer was a biologically aggressive cancer.
He said the standard treatment for achieving a cure is the complete removal of the gastric tumor along with a wide margin of normal stomach tissue.
He advised those who already had stomach cancer to consult a gastrointestinal surgeon for expert care as soon as possible.
Also, Dr Ugochi Ikeme, Senior Resident Doctor, General Surgery at UCH, said stomach cancer was more common in males and twice as common in blacks than whites.
Ikeme described it as mostly a disease of the elderly and called ‘the captain of the men of death’.
She remarked that ingested nitrites from preserved foods are converted to nitrosamines which increases the risk.