Causes
As with most cancers, researchers don't know yet what causes stomach cancer. Several risk factors have been identified, however. These include:
- age (most people diagnosed are over 55 years old)
- alcohol abuse
- chemical exposure to certain dusts or fumes
- diets high in nitrates and nitrites, with foods that are preserved by drying, smoking, salting, or pickling
- family history of stomach cancer
- gastric atrophy
- gender (more men than women are affected)
- a history of ulcers (H. pylori infection)
- pernicious anemia
- previous stomach surgery
- race (people of African descent are more likely to be diagnosed than Caucasians)
- smoking cigarettes
- socio-economic status - it's not known why, but people in lower socio-economic classes seem to have a higher rate of stomach cancer