A 62-year-old man presents to the emergency department with a 1-day history of dark tarry stools and light-headedness. He also reports a 1-month history of intermittent abdominal discomfort and poor appetite. For the pain he takes ibuprofen on an as needed basis.On physical examination, the blood pressure is 102/75mm Hg, heart rate is 110/min, and the abdomen is soft and nontender. He undergoes urgent upper endoscopy that finds an ulcerating lesion in his stomach and biopsies confirm gastric cancer. Which of the following is a risk factor for carcinoma of the stomach?
H pylori is another important risk factor, since it causes gastritis that eventually leads to chronic atrophic gastritis, metaplasia, dysplasia, and then carcinoma. Low dietary vitamin C, and high salt and nitrate consumption predispose to gastric cancer, as does ingestion of smoked foods. Smoking is a risk factor, but alcohol is not.
Helicobacter pylori infection
high socioeconomic status
high-protein diet
high alcohol consumption
Oncology