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World J Gastroenterol. Mar 28, 2022; 28(12): 1187-1203
Published online Mar 28, 2022. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v28.i12.1187
Epidemiology of stomach cancer
Milena Ilic, Irena Ilic
Milena Ilic, Department of Epidemiology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, Kragujevac 34000, Serbia
Irena Ilic, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade 11000, Serbia
Author contributions: All authors equally contributed to this paper with conception and design of the study, literature review and analysis, drafting and critical revision and editing, and approval of the final version.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No potential conflicts of interest. No financial support.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Milena Ilic, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Epidemiology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac, S. Markovica 69, Kragujevac 34000, Serbia. drmilenailic@yahoo.com
Received: July 1, 2021
Peer-review started: July 1, 2021
First decision: July 26, 2021
Revised: July 30, 2021
Accepted: February 15, 2022
Article in press: February 15, 2022
Published online: March 28, 2022
Processing time: 267 Days and 3.9 Hours
Abstract

Despite a decline in incidence and mortality during the last decades, stomach cancer is one of the main health challenges worldwide. According to the GLOBOCAN 2020 estimates, stomach cancer caused approximately 800000 deaths (accounting for 7.7% of all cancer deaths), and ranks as the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths in both genders combined. About 1.1 million new cases of stomach cancer were diagnosed in 2020 (accounting for 5.6% of all cancer cases). About 75% of all new cases and all deaths from stomach cancer are reported in Asia. Stomach cancer is one of the most lethal malignant tumors, with a five-year survival rate of around 20%. There are some well-established risk factors for stomach cancer: Helicobacter pylori infection, dietary factors, tobacco, obesity, and radiation. To date, the most important way of preventing stomach cancer is reduced exposure to risk factors, as well as screening and early detection. Further research on risk factors can help identify various opportunities for more effective prevention. Screening programs for stomach cancer have been implemented in a few countries, either as a national or opportunistic screening of high-risk individuals only. Generally, due to its high aggressiveness and heterogeneity, stomach cancer still remains a severe global health problem.

Keywords: Stomach cancer; Epidemiology; Incidence; Mortality; Survival; Predictive factors; Prevention

Core Tip: Despite the decline in incidence and mortality during the last decades, stomach cancer is one of the main health challenges worldwide. According to the GLOBOCAN 2020 estimates, stomach cancer caused approximately 800000 deaths, and ranks as the fourth leading cause of deaths from cancer in both genders combined. Around 1.1 million new stomach cancer cases were diagnosed in 2020. There are some well-established risk factors for stomach cancer: Helicobacter pylori infection, dietary factors, tobacco, obesity, and radiation. To date, the most important way of preventing stomach cancer is reduced exposure to risk factors, as well as screening and early detection.