Causes
As with most cancers, researchers don't know yet what causes stomach cancer. Several risk factors have been identified, however. These include:
- alcohol use
- cigarette smoking
- diets high in foods that are preserved by drying, smoking, salting, or pickling
- diet low in vegetables and fruits
- exposure to chemicals used in rubber and lead manufacturing
- family history of stomach cancer
- gastric atrophy
- history of Helicobacter pylori infection
- men
- being older than 50 years of age
- pernicious anemia
- previous stomach surgery
- people of African descent
- socioeconomic status - it's not known why, but people in lower socioeconomic classes seem to have a higher rate of stomach cancer