A once-dominant killer, stomach cancer, which used to take the lives of 30,000 Americans annually, is quietly resurfacing, prompting concern among the medical community.

Historically, stomach cancer was the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. Over time, the number of cases dropped significantly as smoking rates declined, but alarmingly, these numbers are on the rise again for reasons that remain unclear.

Early symptoms of this cancer are often mistaken for minor health issues. Individuals may experience bloating after eating small amounts, indigestion, and nausea, symptoms that are frequently overlooked or attributed to less serious ailments.

If not diagnosed early, this cancer can insidiously penetrate the stomach lining and metastasize to other parts of the body.

The prognosis for those affected remains grim, underscoring the urgent need for awareness and early detection.

The survival statistics are bleak. 

Overall, just 37 percent of patients survive for five years after their diagnosis. For those diagnosed at stage four (the most advanced stage of cancer), that number drops to 7.5 percent. 

For decades, stomach cancer was considered a disease of old age, most commonly affecting people over 65 years old, particularly smokers. 

Georgia Gardiner was diagnosed with stomach cancer at age 28 after suffering from sickness and stomach cramps that came out of the blue one summer

Alt-rock band drummer Steven Kopacz was diagnosed with stomach cancer at age 33 years after suffering from a lingering pain in his stomach. He had surgery to remove his entire stomach and chemotherapy. He lives in Florida

Since the 2010s, however, cases have ticked up among adults under 50 years old, rising by around one percent a year. Cases are rising twice as fast among women, by about three percent per year, compared to men.

Doctors on the front lines are warning of the cancer’s return and the alarming trend of more cases being diagnosed in young adults.

Dr Amar Rewari, a radiation oncologist at Luminis Health in Maryland, told Daily Mail: ‘I have noticed a rise in stomach cancers, particularly among younger patients in the last several years.

‘These patients, they can be in their 30s, 40s, and oftentimes they don’t fit the typical risk factors. They are healthy, they exercise, they have families and careers, they are in a busy time in their lives, and then they get stomach cancer.’

He added: ‘The cancer is not common, but cases are definitely growing. I see about a patient or two a month… but that used to be one or two patients every few months.

Population-level data appear to support these observations. Between 2000 and 2018, among those under 55 years old, the incidence of stomach cancer cases rose 3.2 percent per year among women and 1.5 percent per year among men, according to a 2023 analysis. The data was for non-cardia gastric cancer, the most common type of stomach cancer that begins in the mucus-producing cells of the stomach.

A separate study from 2018 warned that cases of stomach cancer had decreased 2.6 percent per year among people over 50 years old, but risen 1.3 percent annually in those under 50.

Though the absolute number of cases remains low compared to other cancers such as colon, breast or lung cancer, experts say the trend is nonetheless concerning. 

Dr Yanghee Woo, a gastroenterologist at City of Hope Hospital in California, told Daily Mail how she had witnessed the same concerning shift in her own practice.

She said: ‘Unfortunately, a large percentage of our patients that come to see us are very young, in their 20s, 30s, 40s, with young children.

The above shows the stomach, left, and the tumor at the five stomach cancer stages. At stage four, the cancer has spread to other areas of the body

The above shows the stomach cancer incidence rate among men (green) and women (blue) by year

‘These patients are otherwise healthy in the prime of their lives. They are going to graduate school, having a great job, being the father of a three-year-old, and did not expect that they would have cancer. 

Woo also warned that the cancer was particularly difficult to detect early, adding: ‘Most of the patients had symptoms for quite a while, unfortunately, and either ignored them or treated them as reflux symptoms. 

‘The warning signs were abdominal pain, bloating, burping, and then things only got worse, which led them to see the doctor, and eventually be diagnosed with the cancer.

‘Many patients consider they are too young to have cancer, which is a very valid assumption, traditionally young patients are at much lower risk.’

Instead of sudden and alarming symptoms, patients normally report a vague sense that something is ‘off’ for weeks, months or years before receiving a diagnosis. 

By the time many patients are finally seen by a doctor, their prognosis is grim.

Rewari said by the time younger patients get to him, they often have more advanced signs such as struggling to swallow, vomiting, suffering from extreme weight loss, an iron deficiency and black stools, a warning sign of bleeding in the body.

Alyssa Burks, from Houston, was diagnosed with stomach cancer at age 32 years after she started to suffer from difficulty swallowing and heartburn. Doctors initially told her to cut down on acidic foods to control the symptoms

For Alyssa Burks, from Houston, Texas, when she started to suffer from relentless fatigue at age 32, she initially blamed it on stress and being overworked.

The mother-of-one said she would go to work, come home, and go straight to sleep. She also found it impossible to summon the energy for socializing.

Doctors first dismissed her symptoms as ‘just getting older,’ and then, when she complained of difficulty swallowing and heartburn, physicians advised her to cut back on acidic foods to ‘control her symptoms’.

Dr Yanghee Woo, a gastroenterologist at City of Hope Hospital in California, warned over rising stomach cancer cases

It was only after she relentlessly demanded answers, after battling the symptoms for two-and-a-half years, that scans were finally ordered, which revealed her diagnosis: Stage 4 stomach cancer that had spread to other parts of her body. 

It was similar for Steven Kopacz, a rock band drummer, who was used to pre-gig jitters. So, when a lingering pain appeared in the then 33-year-old’s stomach in 2017, he assumed it was a stomach ulcer.

But when the father-of-one’s pain did not ease, the Florida local sought help from doctors, who diagnosed him with stage three gastric adenocarcinoma, among the most common types of stomach cancer that forms in cells in the stomach lining. Doctors removed his stomach in a surgery, and he is now receiving chemotherapy.

For Janine Somma, a stay-at-home mother from New York who was only 28 when she was diagnosed with stomach cancer, the warning sign was a burning, gnawing pain in her stomach — but in her case, too, doctors initially dismissed it as acid reflux.

It is not clear what might be driving the rise in stomach cancer cases among young people, but doctors have a range of theories. Shifts in diets, bacterial infections and even antibiotics have all been blamed.

Rewari told Daily Mail: ‘We believe changes in diet and lifestyle are causing this rise, which is also what may be behind the rise in colon cancer.

‘If you smoke, smoking is definitely the main risk factor for this cancer.

Shown above is Toby Keith in 2023. The country music star died in 2024 at the age of 62 years after a two-and-a-half-year battle with stomach cancer

Kopacz, who lives in Florida, said it was normal to have a churning feeling in the stomach before a show. But when the pain lingered, he thought something was amiss, eventually leading to his cancer diagnosis

‘But there is also evidence that suggests eating heavily salted or processed foods raises your risk. This includes around smoked meats, so like bologna and hot dogs, those kinds of things.’

Using tobacco more than doubles the risk of developing gastric cancer, including stomach cancer, according to previous research. Doctors say this is because the carcinogens inhaled also enter the stomach, where they damage the lining. A 2017 study warned alcohol consumption raised the risk of the disease by 39 percent.

Studies have also raised the alarm over ultra-processed and salty foods, saying they raise the risk for gastric cancers, including stomach cancer, by 20 to 25 percent.

Doctors say this could be because the high salt levels may directly damage the stomach lining, which can raise the risk of the cancer occurring.

There are also concerns over the bacteria Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) which is now rare in the US but remains common in many developing countries. It’s because of this bacteria, doctors say, that globally, stomach cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death.

H pylori is able to survive stomach acid and burrow into the organ’s mucus, where it causes inflammation and damages the stomach wall. Studies suggest it may double the risk of the cancer.

Americans may be infected abroad, but doctors say it can be cleared with antibiotics.

At the same time, however, some physicians have also suggested that antibiotics may be behind the rising stomach cancer rates among young adults.

Dr Constanza Camargo, a researcher at the National Cancer Institute, said previously: ‘We are seeing an increased risk of this cancer in people born after 1950, and that coincides with the introduction of antibiotics.’

Bella Bayliss was diagnosed with stomach cancer at age 25 years after suffering from abdominal pain and extreme bloating. Bayliss is from the UK

The above shows stomach cancer cases and deaths in the US as a rate. It reveals an uptick in recent years

The above shows stomach cancer survival rates based on the stage at which the disease is detected

Despite the grim statistics, specialists say there are reasons for cautious optimism.

Overall, a recent study suggested that more cases are now being caught in the early stages, when they are easier to treat.

A 2025 study found that, between 2004 and 2021, the number of stomach cancer cases diagnosed early rose 53 percent, while the number diagnosed later have dropped.

Doctors say advances in technology for diagnosing and treating stomach cancer are helping to drive earlier detection and improve outcomes for patients.

Doctors and patients are also now more aware of the rising incidence of early-onset cancers, which may in some cases help to ensure the disease is detected earlier.

Woo added: ‘I do want people to know that treatments at all stages have got better and the diagnosis, it does not necessarily mean it is a terminal thing.

‘In the past the cancer was very bad, but we do now have excellent targeted drugs and other methods that can be used to fight the cancer.’