Skip to main contentLast updated: 23-Oct-2026
Dr Harsh Shah
MS, MCh (Surgical Gastroenterology), DrNB (Surgical Gastroenterology)
Registered with Gujarat Medical Council, Reg. No. G-38738
Stomach Cancer Surgeon
Apollo Hospital, Bhat, Gandhinagar · Gota OPD, Ahmedabad · 18 years of experience
★★★★★ Google: 4.89 from 216 reviews (Gota clinic) · 4.94 from 18 reviews (Apollo, Bhat)
In short
Stomach cancer is one of the common cancers in the world. In many countries it has become less common over the last fifty years. In India it is seen less often than in Japan or Korea, but far more in some regions than in others.
In India, most patients reach a surgeon once the cancer has grown through the stomach wall or reached the lymph glands. The early signs look like ordinary acidity, and there is no national screening programme.
Stage, not the country, decides the outlook. When stomach cancer is found early, the results in India are close to those in Japan and Korea.
How stomach cancer is tested, staged and treated, from the first endoscopy to the operation, is set out on the stomach cancer treatment in Ahmedabad page.
Across the world, stomach cancer is among the five common cancers and a major cause of death from cancer. Most cases are in East Asia, and the fewest are in Africa.
The disease has been falling for half a century in richer countries. Three changes explain much of the fall. Fewer people now carry the stomach germ Helicobacter pylori. Fridges have replaced salting and smoking as the way to keep food. And fresh fruit and vegetables are eaten all year.
One trend runs the other way. Stomach cancer in people under fifty is being seen more often in several countries. The reason is not yet clear. These younger patients often have the diffuse kind, which is explained further down.
India as a whole sits in the middle of the world range. That average hides a large spread between states.
| Region | How often it is seen | Habits linked to it |
|---|---|---|
| Mizoram and the north-east hill states | Very high, close to the rates in Japan and Korea | Smoked and dried meat and fish, fermented food, tobacco |
| Kashmir | High | Salted tea, smoked meat, the stomach germ |
| Large southern cities | Around the national average | Mixed |
| Delhi, Mumbai and the west, including Gujarat | Below the national average | Mixed; the stomach germ is still common |
| Kerala | Low | Mixed |
Living in a lower-risk state does not mean a person is safe. In Gujarat, stomach cancer is still seen regularly, often in people who had acidity for months first.
Men get stomach cancer about twice as often as women. In India, many patients are in their late fifties at diagnosis. That is a few years younger than in Western countries.
Having one or more of these does not mean cancer will follow. Most people with them never get it. They matter because they lower the bar for an early endoscopy when symptoms start.
In Indian hospital records, only a small share of patients are found at the first stage. A third or more already have spread to the liver, the lining of the abdomen or far glands.
In Japan and Korea about half of all stomach cancers are found at an early stage. The gap is not because the disease is different. It is because of when it is found. Four things delay the diagnosis here:
By the time vomiting, black stools or a lump appear, the cancer has usually grown through the wall of the stomach.
Stomach cancer can start at the lower end, near the outlet, in the middle, or at the top where the food pipe joins.
Cancer at the lower end is still the usual site in India, but it is slowly becoming less common. Cancer at the top, where the food pipe joins the stomach, is rising in Western countries, along with reflux and extra weight.
The site changes the operation. A cancer at the lower end can often be treated by removing part of the stomach. A cancer at the top may need the whole stomach removed, and sometimes the lower food pipe as well. The CT scan and endoscopy show the site before any plan is made.
The pathologist sorts stomach cancer into two main kinds. The kind is printed on the biopsy report.
| Kind | Who it affects | How it grows |
|---|---|---|
| Intestinal type | Older people, more often men; linked to the stomach germ and diet | Forms a lump or an ulcer that the endoscopy shows clearly |
| Diffuse type | Younger people, women as often as men; sometimes runs in families | Spreads inside the wall; the stomach can look nearly normal |
India has more of the diffuse type than Japan or Korea do. It is harder to see, and a first biopsy can miss it. When the whole stomach wall becomes stiff, it is called linitis plastica.
Most patients with stage one stomach cancer are alive and well years after treatment. With spread to distant organs, long-term control is rare. That gap is the reason early diagnosis matters.
Japan and Korea report better results for stomach cancer as a whole. Most of that difference comes from finding it earlier. When patients of the same stage are compared, centres in India that remove enough lymph glands and give modern chemotherapy reach similar results.
Why chemotherapy is often given before the operation is set out on the stomach cancer chemotherapy before surgery page.
An endoscopy is the only test that sees the stomach lining and takes a biopsy. A short list of signs means it should not wait for another course of antacids.
| Sign | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| New acidity after the age of about 45 | Acidity that starts later in life needs a look, not only tablets. |
| Weight loss without trying | A common early sign of stomach cancer. |
| Feeling full after a few mouthfuls | The stomach may not be stretching normally. |
| Black, tarry stools or vomiting blood | Points to bleeding in the stomach. See a doctor the same day. |
| Low blood count with no clear cause | Slow bleeding from the stomach can cause it. |
| Repeated vomiting of food eaten hours before | Suggests a block at the stomach outlet. |
It is less common in India than in Japan or Korea. But it is seen far more in the north-east hill states and Kashmir than in the rest of the country. In Gujarat it is less frequent, yet still seen regularly.
The early signs feel like acidity and are eased by antacids. There is no national screening programme. So many patients reach an endoscopy only after weight loss, vomiting or bleeding.
Ordinary acidity does not turn into cancer. But early stomach cancer can feel exactly like acidity. New acidity after about 45, or acidity with weight loss, needs an endoscopy.
Yes. It is being seen more often in people under fifty in several countries. In younger people it is often the diffuse type, which can be hard to see on endoscopy.
No. Most adults in India carry the germ and very few get cancer. Treating the germ when it is found lowers the risk, mainly when there is a family history.
Yes. An early cancer can sometimes be removed through the endoscope, and most patients with stage one disease are well years after treatment. That is why early endoscopy matters.
The full range of stomach cancer care is on the stomach cancer treatment page. For questions before you travel, call +91-63555-64601.
Shah’s Gastro, Cancer & Robotic Surgery Centre, Gota, Ahmedabad
Consultation, review of endoscopy, biopsy and CT reports, second opinions and follow-up.
Apollo Hospital, Bhat, Gandhinagar
Apollo Hospital International Limited, GIDC Bhat Industrial Estate, Bhat, Gandhinagar. Endoscopy and biopsy, CT and PET scans, chemotherapy, stomach cancer surgery and inpatient care.
Have you had indigestion, a full feeling after small meals or weight loss for some weeks, and been told to take antacids? Endoscopy reports, biopsy reports and scans can be sent ahead on WhatsApp, so the consultation starts with them already read. Your treatment is decided at the consultation, after examination. Call +91-63555-64601 Send reports before your visit
Swasth Parivar: twice a month, practical advice on recovery, diet and warning signs. No advertising. Stop any time.
Your number is used for these updates and for the clinic to reach you. It is never sold or passed on. To stop, reply STOP on WhatsApp.
