Stomach Cancer Overview

Stomach cancer is cancer that occurs in the stomach - the muscular sac located in the upper middle of your abdomen, just below the ribs. Your stomach gets and keeps the food you eat, and then helps to break down and digest them.

Another word for stomach cancer is gastric cancer. These two concepts are most often referring to stomach cancer that starts in the mucus-producing cells of the lining of the stomach (adenocarcinoma). Adenocarcinoma is the most common form of stomach cancer.

Stomach cancer is rare in the United States, and the number of people diagnosed with the disease each year is decreasing. Stomach cancer is more common in other parts of the world, especially in Japan.