The CancerWeb Report, What's New In Cancer: August, 1996
Stomach Cancer

• Just what is the connection between stomach cancer and ulcers? - In a study from Uppsala University in Sweden, researchers used inpatient registry data to follow the development of stomach cancer in 29,287 patients with gastric ulcers and 24,456 with duodenal ulcers, between 1965 and 1983. As reported in the July 25, 1996 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, the incidence of stomach cancer in those with gastric ulcers peaked in the first 3 years and leveled off at a value which was about 80% greater than for the general Swedish population. This increased risk of stomach cancer persisted throughout the time period covered, even in those patients followed for as long as 24 years. The risk was higher among women than among men, and also was greater in younger people. In contrast, the incidence of stomach cancer among duodenal ulcer patients was actually 40% lower than in the general population. (Hansson, NEJ Med 335:242, 1996)

  Editor's Comment: - Both gastric ulcers and stomach cancer are associated with infection by Helicobacter pylori, so the findings regarding stomach ulcers are to be expected, but the results for duodenal ulcers are difficult to understand.

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• CA 72-4, a new blood marker for stomach cancer. - Researchers at the Regina Elena Cancer Center and University of Rome, Italy, and the National Cancer Institute in the US, reported that a blood serum material called CA 72-4 may help in distinguishing between late and early stages of stomach cancer, and also may indicate those with progressing disease and a poor prognosis. In this study, published in the July-August, 1996 special issue of Anticancer Research, they examined serum levels of the substance in 242 patients, finding it was measurable in more patients than were other frequently-used potential markers such as CA 19.9 or CEA. (Spila, Anticancer Res 16:2241, 1996)