The evolution process of gastric cancer

Gastric cancer is not a rapid transformation from normal cells to cancer cells, but a gradual process from initial gastritis to final gastric cancer. It needs to go through four steps of evolution: chronic superficial gastritis develops into chronic atrophic gastritis, then develops into intestinal metaplasia and dysplasia, and finally develops into gastric cancer.

The first step is chronic superficial gastritis, that is, there is inflammatory cell infiltration and tissue edema in the gastric mucosal tissue.

The second step is chronic atrophic gastritis. Generally, young patients mainly suffer from superficial gastritis, while elderly patients mainly suffer from chronic atrophic gastritis. The pathological manifestations include thinning and atrophy of the gastric mucosa, and superficial gastritis and atrophic gastritis can exist at the same time.

The third step is the abnormal proliferation of intestinal metaplasia. Gastritis recurs and the gastric mucosa is repeatedly damaged and repaired. Cells that should grow in the intestine grow in the stomach. Intestinal metaplasia is often considered a precancerous lesion and the development is the early stage of gastric cancer.

Step 4, gastric cancer, after the gradual development and accumulation of the first three parts, gradually becomes gastric cancer. As one of the most common malignant tumors, gastric cancer lacks specific symptoms and signs in the early stage, which often leads to the loss of the best treatment opportunity. If there is unrelieved abdominal discomfort, including bloating, loss of appetite, indigestion, accompanied by acid reflux, and no inducement, oral medication is not effective or good, and symptoms are progressively aggravated, it proves gastric cancer and must be paid attention to.