Gastric Cancer Epidemiology and Treatment Strategies
Summary
Gastric cancer remains a leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, with marked geographical variation reflecting environmental, dietary and microbial factors. Incidence rates are highest in East Asia, Eastern Europe and parts of Central and South America, where Helicobacter pylori infection and dietary nitrosamines drive chronic gastric inflammation and carcinogenesis. Advances in molecular profiling have defined distinct tumour subtypes, informing risk stratification and guiding treatment selection. Early-stage disease benefits from endoscopic resection or gastrectomy with lymphadenectomy, often combined with perioperative or adjuvant chemotherapy to reduce recurrence. In advanced settings, systemic chemotherapy regimens form the backbone of care; the integration of targeted agents—such as HER2-directed monoclonal antibodies and VEGFR2 inhibitors—has improved outcomes in selected patients. More recently, immune checkpoint blockade has demonstrated durable responses in subgroups with high microsatellite instability or PD-L1 expression. Despite these gains, late presentation and intratumoural heterogeneity remain obstacles. Efforts to identify non-invasive biomarkers and refine molecular classifications continue to underpin progress towards precision management of gastric cancer.
Research from Nature Portfolio
No recent Nature Portfolio content available.
Gastric Cancer Epidemiology and Treatment Strategies publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in gastric cancer epidemiology and treatment strategies across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Epidemiology: Study of disease distribution and determinants in populations.
Adjuvant chemotherapy: Drug treatment given after surgical resection to eradicate residual tumour cells.
Biomarker: Measurable indicator of biological processes, disease state or therapeutic response.
Immune checkpoint blockade: Therapy that inhibits regulatory pathways in T cells to enhance anti-tumour immunity.
Epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT): Cellular programme by which epithelial cells acquire migratory and invasive properties.
JAK2/STAT3 signalling: Intracellular cascade activated by cytokines that regulates gene expression related to proliferation and survival.
References
- Association of helicobacter pylori infection and chronic atrophic gastritis with risk of colonic, pancreatic and gastric cancer: A ten-year follow-up of the ESTHER cohort study. Oncotarget (2016).
- RBMS1 promotes gastric cancer metastasis through autocrine IL-6/JAK2/STAT3 signaling. Cell Death & Disease (2022).
- A targeted proteomics approach reveals a serum protein signature as diagnostic biomarker for resectable gastric cancer. EBioMedicine (2019).
- Recent Developments of Systemic Chemotherapy for Gastric Cancer. Cancers (2020).
Turn complex research questions into confident strategic decisions
When you're under pressure to set direction, justify investment, or understand your competitive position, you need more than raw data — you need trusted insights you can act on.
Benchmark your performance against global peers using robust, methodologically sound analysis.
Combine quantitative metrics with qualitative expert insight to uncover strengths, gaps and emerging opportunities.
Gain tailored, decision-ready recommendations aligned to your strategic priorities.
Talk to us to learn more about our data dashboards and bespoke strategy reports.
Grow research skills, confidence and careers with training built for every stage of the research lifecycle.
Developed with Nature Portfolio journal Editors and internationally renowned experts. Discover three ways to learn:
Self-paced, online courses in convenient bite-sized units, covering key skills across scientific writing, publishing, grant writing, data analysis, and more.
Expert trainer-led workshops with hands-on exercises and real-time feedback across core research skills, delivered via interactive group sessions.
Editor-led workshops combining core principles in writing and publishing, personalised 1:1 feedback from Nature Portfolio Editors and hands-on exercises.
Explore course catalogues and workshop agendas, enquire about the options or request institutional pricing.