Stomach Cancer

Diagnosis

If risk factors or symptoms indicate that stomach cancer is possible, your doctor may do a fecal occult blood test to determine whether or not there is a microscopic bit of blood in the stool. However, blood does not always appear in the stool when stomach cancer is present. The next test usually will be an upper endoscopy or an upper gastrointestinal (GI) radiograph.

During an upper GI radiograph, the patient drinks a barium-containing solution that coats the stomach, and then a radiologist takes X-rays of the stomach. During endoscopy the patient is sedated while a lighted tube called an endoscope is threaded down the throat and into the stomach. The doctor uses this tool to examine the interior of the stomach.

If either test indicates a possibility of cancer, doctors will then do a biopsy which involves removing a small bit of stomach tissue to be examined in a laboratory. This often can be done during the endoscopy. A biopsy is necessary to confirm the presence of stomach cancer.

Expected Duration

Stomach cancer will continue to worsen unless it is treated. Doctors believe that stomach cancer develops very slowly, and may take years before it produces symptoms.