Gastrointestinal Oncology

Gastric cancer is an belligerent disease that continues to have a formidable  impact on global health. Despite an overall decline in incidence over the last several decades, gastric cancer remains the fourth most common type of cancer and is the second leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide accounting for 10% of global cancer mortalities. Despite the progress made in recent years, the prognosis for patients with advanced-stage GC remains poor. The last several decades have demonstrated a gradual decline in the rates of gastric cancer in most populations and across subtypes. However, whereas most gastric tumors are declining in incidence, tumors of the gastric cardia and gastroesophageal junction are becoming more frequent and there is a trend of rising incidence of noncardia gastric cancer among Americans between 25 and 39 years of age and in the same age group in other western countries. The incidence rate in men is double that of women and incidence increases with age.