Types of stomach cancer
This page tells you about the different types of stomach cancer. There is information on
Types of stomach cancer
More than 95 out of every 100 stomach cancers diagnosed (95%) are adenocarcinomas. This starts in the gland cells in the stomach lining. Gland cells normally produce mucus and stomach juices.
Squamous cell carcinoma starts in skin like cells that are mixed with gland cells to make the stomach lining. These cancers are treated in the same way as adenocarcinomas.
Rare cancers found in the stomach include lymphoma, gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST) and neuroendocrine tumours. These are all treated differently. For lymphomas, look at our section on non Hodgkin's lymphoma. For GIST, you need the soft tissue sarcoma section. For neuroendocrine tumours, look at the carcinoid section.
Adenocarcinoma is the most common type of stomach cancer. More than 95 out of every 100 stomach cancers (95%) diagnosed are adenocarcinomas. The cancer starts in the gland cells in the stomach lining. The gland cells produce mucus and stomach juices.
Squamous cells are the skin like cells that lie between gland cells to make the stomach lining. These cancers are treated in the same way as adenocarcinomas.
Lymphoma is another type of cancer altogether. It is very rare. There is a whole section of CancerHelp UK on non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, which will be more relevant to you if you have been diagnosed with lymphoma of the stomach.
Sarcoma is the name for a cancer that affects the supportive or protecting tissue of the body. A cancer that begins in the muscle layer of the stomach is called gastrointestinal stromal sarcoma and is very rare. We have information about GIST and its treatment in our question and answer section.
Neuroendocrine tumours are cancers that grow in hormone producing tissues, usually in the digestive system. They are rare, but the most common is carcinoid tumour. We have detailed information about these tumours in the carcinoid section of CancerHelp UK.
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