Around 8,000 people are diagnosed with stomach cancer in the UK each year. There are several different types of stomach cancer. This information is about the most common type, adenocarcinoma of the stomach, which starts in the glandular cells of the stomach lining.
Adenocarcinoma of the stomach makes up about 95 out of every 100 (95%) cases of stomach cancer in the UK.
There are a number of rarer types of stomach cancer. These include:
• Soft tissue sarcomas, of which the commonest are leiomyosarcomas and gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs).
• Lymphomas such as mucosa associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphomas.
• Carcinoid tumours.