Gastric tumor

　　The occurrence of gastric tumors is mainly due to the infection of Helicobacter pylori, followed by genetics, diet, and mycotoxins, which also play a very important role in the occurrence and development of the disease. The specific causes of the disease are as follows.

　　1. Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection:Helicobacter pylori infection in the stomach is one of the important factors in the occurrence of gastric tumors, and the World Health Organization has designated Helicobacter pylori as a class I carcinogen in the occurrence of human gastric tumors. The strain differences of HP bacteria can lead to differences in the occurrence of gastric tumors. In 1994, Forman of the United Kingdom believed that 35% of gastric tumor cases in developed countries and 85% of gastric tumor cases in developing countries were related to HP infection. Some scholars believe that HP infection may be a synergistic carcinogen for gastric tumors.

　　2. Genetic factors:Most retrospective survey materials believe that genetic factors play a relatively certain role in the etiology of gastric tumors, with a significant tendency of family aggregation. It is generally believed that the incidence of gastric tumors in relatives of gastric tumor patients is 4 times higher than that in the control group.

　　3. Dietary factors:Diet and the occurrence of gastric tumors are closely related. In recent years, the incidence of gastric tumors in developed countries in Europe and America has shown a decreasing trend, and the main causes of gastric tumors are related to dietary factors. The characteristics are that in the past, food preservation methods such as smoking (smoked fish, smoked meat) and salting were used, and food contained a relatively high amount of carcinogens such as benzopyrene and nitrosamines. High concentrations of salt are considered to be promoting factors for cancer. Food fried at high temperatures also contains a certain amount of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. In Japan, talc is commonly used to process rice, and talc contains carcinogenic asbestos fibers. High-salt foods such as salted meat, salted fish, salted poultry, pickles, preserved meat, and sausages have also been noticed because high-salt foods can damage the gastric mucosa, making carcinogens more easily absorbed by the body. The survey shows that the consumption of salt is significantly positively correlated with the mortality rate of gastric tumors. In some populations, the diet lacks protein, fat, certain vitamins and minerals, leading to an imbalance in the host's nutrition, thereby reducing the body's resistance and directly or indirectly promoting the occurrence of gastric tumors.

　　4. Mycotoxins:Epidemiological surveys have found that the mold contamination of grain and food in high-incidence areas of gastric tumors in China is quite serious. The detection rate of molds and their toxins in the fasting gastric juice of chronic gastric patients in high-incidence areas is significantly higher than that in low-incidence areas. Molds such as Aspergillus versicolor, Aspergillus flavus, and Aspergillus sydowii are detected in the gastric juice, and the mycotoxins such as Aspergillus versicolor toxin and Aspergillus flavus toxin produced by them can induce gastric tumors in rats.

　　The metastasis rate of advanced gastric tumors is relatively high, and they can generally spread directly to adjacent organs such as the pancreas, liver, transverse colon, etc. They can also metastasize to the surrounding lymph nodes and distant lymph nodes through the lymphatic system, and some may feel hard and non-mobile lymph nodes in the upper left clavicle. Gastric tumors can also metastasize to the liver, lung, brain, bones, ovaries, etc. through the blood circulation, leading to symptoms such as ascites, jaundice, and liver enlargement. The enlargement of the tumor itself can also cause complications such as gastric perforation, hemorrhage, necrosis, obstruction, etc. The symptoms of advanced gastric tumors also include hematemesis, melena, or positive fecal occult blood.

　　The early symptoms of gastric tumors are not obvious and are easily overlooked. The symptoms that appear further developed can suggest the possible location of gastric cancer. For example, a feeling of fullness and discomfort in the abdomen after eating suggests that the cancerous area is in the lower part of the stomach. Difficulty in eating, poor absorption of vitamins and minerals, can cause weight loss and weakness in the patient. Even if no other symptoms are caused, gradual small amounts of bleeding can lead to anemia. In rare cases, patients may vomit a large amount of blood or have tarry black stools.

     A good living habit plays a very important role in preventing the occurrence of gastric tumors, and the specific preventive measures are described as follows.

　　1. Cultivate good living habits, quit smoking, and limit alcohol consumption. The World Health Organization predicts that if people stop smoking, the incidence of tumors in the world will decrease by 1/3 in 5 years. Cigarettes and alcohol are extremely acidic substances, and people who smoke and drink for a long time are prone to an acidic body.

　　2. Do not consume too much salty and spicy food, do not eat overhot, overcold, expired, or deteriorated food; for the elderly, the weak, or those with a genetic predisposition to certain diseases, consume some tumor preventive foods and alkaline foods with high alkaline content, maintain a good mental state.

　　3. Maintain a good attitude towards stress, combine work and rest, and do not overwork. Stress is an important factor in tumor induction. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that stress leads to overwork and physical weakness, causing a decrease in immune function, endocrine disorders, and internal metabolism disorders, leading to the deposition of acidic substances in the body; stress can also lead to mental tension, causing Qi stagnation and blood stasis, internal fire, etc.

　　4. Strengthen physical exercise, enhance physical fitness, exercise more in the sun, and sweating can expel acidic substances from the body through sweat, avoiding the formation of an acidic body.

　　5. Live a regular life, and people with irregular lifestyles, such as staying up all night singing karaoke, playing Mahjong, not returning home at night, etc., will exacerbate acidification of the body and are prone to tumor symptoms. Good habits should be cultivated to maintain an alkaline body and keep various tumor diseases away from oneself.

　　6. Do not consume contaminated foods, such as contaminated water, crops, poultry and eggs, moldy foods, etc. Consume more green organic foods and prevent disease from entering through the mouth.

　　It is difficult to diagnose gastric tumors based on clinical symptoms. X-ray barium contrast examination can show regular circular filling defects in the stomach, and shadowing can be seen when the tumor manifests as an ulcer. However, X-ray barium contrast examination cannot differentiate between benign and malignant tumors, especially early malignant changes. Therefore, endoscopy is particularly important. Under endoscopy, polypoid adenomas appear spherical, solitary or multiple, with pedicles or broad bases. If the surface of adenocarcinoma has nodules, erosion, ulcers, or cauliflower-like changes, with paler color than surrounding mucosa, broad base, and thick surrounding gastric mucosa, it is often malignant. Smooth muscle tumors are most common in mesenchymal tumors, often small, with clear boundaries, not invading surrounding tissues, and can be treated by local resection. Since benign gastric tumors are rarely symptomatic in clinical practice, once symptoms appear, they are often due to the growth of large tumors, complications, or malignant transformation. Therefore, once the diagnosis is confirmed, surgical treatment is often considered. The resected specimens must be sent for pathological examination to avoid misdiagnosis of malignant transformation or inappropriate treatment of malignant tumors as benign tumors.

　　Most patients with gastric tumors experience discomfort in the stomach and find it difficult to eat, therefore, the diet for gastric tumor patients should mainly consist of easily digestible foods.

　　1. It is advisable to consume more foods that can enhance immunity and have anti-gastric tumor effects: such as yam, mung beans, Job's tears, water chestnuts, chrysanthemum, mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, sunflower seeds, kiwi fruit, figs, apples, sardines, honey, pigeon eggs, milk, pork liver, sandworms, truffles, abalone, needlefish, sea cucumber, oysters, squids, sharks, tiger fish, yellowfish swimbladders, seahorses, and turtles.

　　2. It is recommended to eat more high-protein diet to prevent and treat cachexia: such as black-bone chicken, pigeon, quail, beef, pork, rabbit meat, eggs, duck, soy sauce, tofu, grass carp, silver carp, flathead fish, mitten crab, silver carp, crucian carp, eel, bream, perch, mud eel, shrimp, conpoy, pork liver, sturgeon.

　　3. Foods for nausea and vomiting: water chestnut, pomelo, orange, loquat, millet, walnut, rose, starfruit, fig, ginger, lotus root, pear, winter vegetables, mango, black plum, lotus seed.

　　4. Foods for hematochezia: conpoy, turtle, shark, shark fin, chive, golden needle, mushroom, honey, mustard, banana, olive, black plum, black fungus, sheep's blood, broad bean skin, sesame, persimmon cake, tofu dregs, snail.

　　5. Foods for diarrhea: adzuki bean, pear, myrtle, taro, chestnut, pomegranate, lotus seed,芡实, silver carp, white hibiscus flower.

　　6. Foods for abdominal pain: tangerine, cabbage, flounder, mitten crab, frogfish, sand worm, sea cucumber, octopus, chive, taro flower.

　　7. Foods for preventing and treating the side effects of chemotherapy: kiwi, asparagus, longan, walnut, crucian carp, shrimp, crab, goat's blood, goose blood, jellyfish, grass carp, mitten crab, mushrooms, black fungus, quail, Job's tears, clam, mung bean, golden needle, apple, luffa, walnut, turtle, softshell turtle, black plum,杏饼, fig.

　　Gastric tumors are usually discovered and treated in the middle and late stages. Although the efficacy of middle and late-stage gastric tumors is not as good as that of early gastric tumors, proper and regular comprehensive treatment can also effectively alleviate the condition and improve the quality of life of patients.

　　There are various treatment methods for gastric tumors, including: biological immunotherapy, surgery, traditional Chinese medicine, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and others. After many years of research, the currently recognized most effective method is biological immunotherapy. Because most of the gastric cancer we found is in the middle and late stages, nearly 3/4 of the gastric cancer cannot be surgically removed when it is discovered. At the same time, due to the old age and frailty of the patients, or the presence of diseases not suitable for surgery, biological immunotherapy is an effective method for gastric tumors.