There are a number of cancers that can develop within the upper gastro-intestinal part of a body. Your Consultant or Cancer Nurse Specialist will be able to talk to you about your type of cancer in more detail. For a short video from our team about this type of cancer and your local service click here.
The stomach is a stretchy, muscular bag, which stores food and helps to break it down (digestion). It is in the upper left-hand side of the tummy area (abdomen). An adult’s stomach is about 25cm long, but can expand to hold about 1 litre of food. The stomach is at the bottom of the foodpipe (oesophagus) and the other end of the stomach is joined to the bowel.
The stomach has three main parts, they are the:
- top (fundus)
- middle (body)
- bottom (antrum or pylorus)
At each end of the stomach there is a valve called a sphincter. These valves control the movement of food through the digestive system. These are called the:
- cardiac sphincter - at the top joining the oesophagus to the stomach
- pyloric sphincter - which is at the bottom joining the stomach to the bowel
Cancer that develops in the stomach is called stomach cancer or sometimes gastric cancer. The risk of developing stomach cancer increases as we get older. Over half of the people who get Stomach cancer are 75 years or older. Stomach cancer is more common in men than in women.
Click here to read more.
The Oesophagus, sometimes known as the gullet, is part of the digestive system. We often call the digestive system the gastro-intestinal tract (GI tract). The oesophagus is a muscular tube that connects your mouth to your stomach. In the UK, around 9000 people are diagnosed with oesophageal cancer each year. There are two main types of oesophageal cancer:
- Squamous cell carcinoma - this develops in the thin, flat cells of the oesophageal lining (the mucosa)
- Adenocarcinoma – this develops from glandular cells in the Oesophagus and is often linked with Barrett’s oesophagus.
There are other, rarer types of oesophageal cancer. These include:
- Poorly differentiated neuroendocrine cancer
- Small cell cancer
- Soft tissue sarcomas, such as gastro-intestinal stromal tumours (GISTs).
Knowing the type of oesophageal cancer you have helps your cancer doctor plan your treatment. Cancer can develop anywhere in the oesophagus. Cancers in the upper or middle oesophagus are usually squamous cell cancer. Cancers in the lower oesophagus and including the place the oesophagus joins the stomach are usually adenocarcinomas.
To learn more click here to visit the macmillan website or click here to watch a short video.
Gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs) are rare cancers that develop in the digestive system. They are a type of soft tissue sarcoma. Most GISTs start in the stomach or small bowel. But they can develop anywhere along the length of the digestive system, including in the:
- Gullet (oesophagus)
- Back passage (rectum)
Very rarely, they can develop outside the digestive system. Every year, about 900 people in the UK are diagnosed with a GIST. GIST’s are most common in people who are aged 50 and over, and it is rare in people who are less than aged 40 years. Click here to read more.
The pancreas is an organ in the top part of your tummy. The pancreas helps you digest food, it makes hormones such as insulin to do this.Pancreatic cancer is a cancer that is found anywhere in the pancreas. How we can treat pancreatic cancer depends upon
- where it is in the pancreas
- what size it is
- how close it is to important blood vessels
- whether it has spread to other areas of your body
- your general health and fitness
Click here to read more and click here to watch a short video.
Take a look at an app Pancreatic Cancer UK have developed here
The liver is the biggest organ in the body, it is in the upper right hand side of your tummy. The liver has many important jobs, it:
- stores sugars and fats to be made into energy for you
- makes proteins that help your blood to clot and prevents bleeding
- makes bile, which is used to break down fats so that they can be used by the body
- breaks down harmful substances.
The liver is good at repairing itself and it can work even if only a small part is working well.
Liver cancer is a cancer that starts in the liver. It is sometimes called primary liver cancer. Primary liver cancer is rare in the UK, with around 5,700 people in the UK being diagnosed. A cancer that starts somewhere else in the body and spreads to the liver is called secondary (metastatic) cancer. The Gastro-Intestinal team don’t look after these types of cancer for information about this type of cancer please follow the links to your primary cancer for example breast or colon.
Click here to read more or click here to watch a short video.
The Gallbladder and bile ducts are parts of the digestive system.
- The gallbladder is a small pouch that stores bile
- Bile ducts are the tubes that connect the liver and gallbladder to the small bowel and carry bile.
Bile is made by the liver and stored in the gallbladder and is used by the body to break down fats from food to help us digest this.The bile ducts and gallbladder together are known as the biliary system (sometimes called the biliary tree).
Gallbladder cancer is rare.
- Just under 1000 people in the UK are diagnosed with it each year.
- It is most common in people over 75 years of age.
- It is more common in women than men..
The types of bile duct cancer are named after the part of the bile duct where the cancer started.
- Intrahepatic bile duct cancers, around 1 in 10 of bile duct cancers (10%).
- Extrahepatic bile duct cancers
There are two types of extrahepatic bile duct cancers:
- perihilar bile duct cancers make up 5 in 10 bile duct cancers (50%)
- distal bile duct cancers make up 4 in 10 bile duct cancers (40 %)
Click here to read more about bile duct cancer and click here to read more about gallbladder cancer.
Websites
UK based charity principally campaigning for better awareness of pancreatic cancer and aiming to improve earlier detection rates however there is also plenty of information and advice for people who may be worried about pancreatic cancer or for people who have had a diagnosis.
This charity provides expert advice and support to people who are worried about pancreatic cancer or who have just been diagnosed. They operate a support line as well as online forums for discussion. The charity also funds vital research into improving how pancreatic cancer is diagnosed and treated and lead campaigns for better awareness of the disease.
You only have one liver and it's important to look after it.It performs hundreds of essential tasks including processing digested food from the intestine, controlling levels of fats, amino acids and glucose in the blood and combating infections.
Raise public awareness: Our research shows that 58% of people are embarrassed to talk about their digestive condition or symptoms. 51% of people delay seeking advice for their symptoms for over 6 months. When the Guts UK roadshow comes to town, we empower people to seek help.Fund life-changing & life-saving research: Guts UK is the only UK charity funding research into the digestive system from top to tail. It’s time the UK got to grips with guts!Provide expert information: Information is power! When armed with information, patients can take control of their health and make informed decisions
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