{"id":1857,"date":"2021-05-13T01:15:05","date_gmt":"2021-05-12T17:15:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/asiamd.com\/?p=1857"},"modified":"2025-08-22T17:31:58","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T17:31:58","slug":"risks-causes-and-symptoms-of-stomach-cancer-in-singapore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asiamd.bqubetech.com\/my\/2021\/05\/13\/risks-causes-and-symptoms-of-stomach-cancer-in-singapore\/","title":{"rendered":"Risks, causes and symptoms of stomach cancer in Singapore"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This article has been <em>verified medically<\/em> by <a href=\"https:\/\/asiamd.bqubetech.com\/make-an-appointment\/?dr=melvin_look\">Dr Melvin Look<\/a>, consultant surgeon at Surgi-TEN Specialists, Farrer Park Hospital (Singapore).<\/span><\/i><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/asiamd.bqubetech.com\/doctors\/melvin-look\/\">About the Doctor<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Singapore is a country with moderate risks of stomach cancer. It is the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.singaporecancersociety.org.sg\/learn-about-cancer\/types-of-cancer\/stomach-cancer.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">seventh most common cancer in men and the ninth most common cancer in women in the Singapore population<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. According to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nrdo.gov.sg\/docs\/librariesprovider3\/default-document-library\/thespore-cancerregistry_commerativebook_-1.pdf?sfvrsn=231fce6e_0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Singapore Cancer Registry\u2019s 50<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">th<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Anniversary Monograph (1968-2017)<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the subgroup of Chinese males have the highest risk of developing stomach cancer compared to the Malays and Indians for both genders. Between 2008 and 2012, the age-standardised incidence rate for stomach cancer in Singaporean Chinese males is 13.4 in 100,000.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/AsiaMDWhatsAppEN\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b><i>Follow us on WhatsApp for the latest updates: https:\/\/bit.ly\/AsiaMDWhatsAppEN\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2>Causes of stomach cancer<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is believed that the occurrence of stomach cancer is related to:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hopkinsmedicine.org\/health\/conditions-and-diseases\/helicobacter-pylori\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Helicobacter pylori<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> infection<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is the most significant cause of stomach cancer. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">pylori<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a spiral-shaped organism that burrows into the mucus found lining the stomach. This can cause peptic ulcers, and it can also trigger a transformation in the stomach that leads to cancer change.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nejm.org\/doi\/full\/10.1056\/NEJMoa1909666\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Family history of gastric cancer<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, or related malignancies such as colon and breast cancers.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consumption of salted, preserved and pickled foods have been <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wcrf.org\/int\/blog\/articles\/2016\/04\/salt-shaking-link-stomach-cancer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">proven to increase one\u2019s risk of developing stomach cancer<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Salt damages the stomach lining and causes lesions, which can deteriorate and become stomach cancer.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cancer.org\/cancer\/stomach-cancer\/causes-risks-prevention\/risk-factors.html#:~:text=Tobacco%20use,doubled%20in%20people%20who%20smoke.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Smoking<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Tobacco use increases stomach cancer risk, particularly for cancers of the upper part of the stomach near the oesophagus.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2>Symptoms<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the early stages, gastric cancer may be asymptomatic. It may cause very subtle symptoms such as bloating or indigestion. As such, it usually presents late. The usual symptoms of advanced gastric cancer are:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pain and discomfort in the upper abdomen<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Early satiety (fullness after a small meal)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vomiting, loss of weight and loss of appetite<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Occasionally, it presents as an emergency with severe pain or bleeding (vomiting of blood or passage of black stools due to altered blood)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Generally, the treatment of late-stage stomach cancer has poor outcomes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2>Early investigation<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unlike Japan and South Korea, Singapore does not have a national endoscopic screening programme to detect stomach cancer early. However, if you have suffered a recent onset of \u201cgastric pain\u201d or any of the symptoms mentioned above, and have not been investigated before, you should see your family doctor to see if a gastroscopy is recommended. This is a simple, 10-minute test in which a thin, flexible telescope is inserted through the mouth and into the stomach for a complete visualisation of the cause of your symptoms.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Stomach cancer is treatable if detected early. However, it is usually asymptomatic in the early stages and only detected when it has advanced.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":1859,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[155,130,119,180,181],"tags":[270,438,457,554,555,557,614,658,940,1046,1047,1074,1163,1353,1355,1369,1534,1594,1604,1630,1739,1740,1887,1938],"class_list":["post-1857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abdominal","category-gastroenterology","category-general-surgery","category-stomach","category-stomach-and-digestive-system","tag-black-stools","tag-difficult-swallowing","tag-dr-melvin-look","tag-gastric-cancer","tag-gastric-pain","tag-general-surgery","tag-heartburn","tag-indigestion","tag-reflux-pain","tag-stomach-cancer","tag-stomach-pain","tag-symptoms","tag-vomit-blood","tag-1353","tag-1355","tag-1369","tag-1534","tag-1594","tag-1604","tag-1630","tag-1739","tag-1740","tag-1887","tag-1938"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.0","language":"my","enabled_languages":["en","zh","ko","ja","mn","vi","ta","th","ms","km","id","my","hi"],"languages":{"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":true},"zh":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":true},"ko":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"ja":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"mn":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"vi":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"ta":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"th":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"ms":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"km":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"id":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"my":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false},"hi":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/asiamd.bqubetech.com\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/asiamd.bqubetech.com\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/asiamd.bqubetech.com\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asiamd.bqubetech.com\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asiamd.bqubetech.com\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1857"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/asiamd.bqubetech.com\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1857\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10420,"href":"https:\/\/asiamd.bqubetech.com\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1857\/revisions\/10420"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asiamd.bqubetech.com\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/asiamd.bqubetech.com\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asiamd.bqubetech.com\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asiamd.bqubetech.com\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}