Early diagnosis of early gastric cancer.

The prognosis of gastric cancer is closely related to the stage of disease at diagnosis. Early gastric cancer, whereby disease is limited to mucosa and submucosa, confers a survival rate of greater than 90% in 5 years in many centres. Gastric cancer is still a major cause of cancer mortality worldwide.

Improving outcomes in gastric cancer over 20 years.

Background: Gastric cancer has in the past proven to be a difficult disease to cure. Surgery is the most effective treatment, although the extent of lymphadenectomy undertaken is controversial. This paper examines trends in the detection and treatment of gastric cancer, the move toward targeted surgery, and their impact on survival.