2023-09-11 14:02:00
In France, 4,657 cases of stomach cancer were diagnosed in 2018. This makes it a fairly rare cancer, it is positioned at 13 th rank among the most common cancers. Stomach cancer mainly affects men, accounting for 65% of cases.
Most of the time, in 90% of cases, stomach cancer is of the adenocarcinoma type (microscopic structure of glandular type). It develops in the superficial layer of the stomach, at the expense of the glands of the gastric mucosa which produce gastric juice.
Cases of stomach cancer are becoming rarer. Indeed, infection by the bacteria Helicobacter pylori, a recognized factor in carcinogenesis via chronic inflammation of the gastric mucosa, is decreasing in Western Europe, as explained by the Learned Society of Diseases and Cancers of the Device. digestive.
Several risk factors favoring the appearance of stomach cancer are known: smoking, a diet rich in salty products and poor in fresh vegetables and fruits, a history of stomach cancer in the family or even a genetic predisposition. increasing the risk of developing stomach cancer.
Stomach cancer: often a late diagnosis
Stomach cancer is often detected at an advanced stage. Its almost non-existent symptoms are to blame, as detailed by the researchers of the study that we detail below: “Since patients with early-stage disease are often asymptomatic, gastric or gastro-junction adenocarcinomas esophageal disease are frequently diagnosed at an advanced or metastatic stage. »
This makes it a fairly fatal cancer since, at an advanced stage (the cancer has invaded lymph nodes around the stomach and is no longer located only in this organ), the survival rate is 31% according to the Canadian Cancer Society.
Stomach cancer: what are the treatments?
The treatments currently offered to treat stomach cancer are multiple and depend on the stage at which the disease was detected.
Firstly, when the adenocarcinoma is located in the stomach, there are no metastases, no lymph node invasion, and the tumor is superficial, doctors recommend endoscopic treatment.
If the tumor has infiltrated the stomach wall, surgery is considered.
At a more advanced stage of the disease, chemotherapy sessions are the most effective in slowing down the development of the disease, relieving symptoms (reducing pain in particular) and improving quality of life, in addition of surgery.
However, research continues to advance in order to be able to offer patients ever more effective treatments.
Stomach cancer: the combination of chemotherapy and zolbetuximab to improve patient survival
A study recently published in the journal Nature describes the effectiveness of the combination of chemotherapy sessions and zolbetuximab in improving the survival of patients with advanced stomach cancer.
To reach these conclusions, the researchers who led the study followed 507 patients with locally advanced or metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction cancer, in 18 countries.
Adding zolbetuximab to chemotherapy treatmentin a group of patients, doubled the chances of not having disease progression at 2 years by 14% compared to 7% for the group which received a placebo in addition to chemotherapy.
This makes it an encouraging discovery in the treatment of stomach cancer.
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