Stomach Gastric Cancer
Stomach cancer is relatively rare in the United States, but it is the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths in the world. The stomach cancer specialists at NewYork-Presbyterian Queens are highly experienced in diagnosing and treating stomach cancer, using combinations of treatments to customize a plan of care for each of our patients.
A Team of Stomach Cancer Specialists
If you have stomach cancer, we will assemble a multidisciplinary team of gastrointestinal specialists in interventional endoscopy, radiology, surgery, medical oncology, radiation oncology, and nutrition and dietetics to meet your needs. They will work together to provide you with coordinated, advanced, and customized care.
Accurate Diagnosis and Staging
An essential component of your care is an accurate diagnosis and measurement of the extent of your disease—a process called staging. We use the results of these tests to determine the most efficient course of care for you. We offer the most advanced diagnostic and staging tools for stomach cancer, including:
- Upper endoscopy. This test involves examination of the stomach using a gastroscope (a tube inserted into the stomach with a camera at its tip) to help detect abnormalities.
- Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS). If cancer is confirmed, our endoscopists perform this test using an endoscope with an ultrasound probe at the tip. They use EUS to help see the tumor, gauge its depth, and determine if the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes or invaded surrounding organs or vessels. Sometimes they can remove superficial tumors using approaches, such as endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) and endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD).
- Confocal laser endomicroscopy. Our interventional endoscopists use this technique to obtain enhanced images of the stomach wall to detect and treat early cancers that are not visible by other methods. NewYork-Presbyterian is one of the few centers in the country using this technology.
- Imaging tests. We may also perform high-resolution computed tomography (CT or CAT) scanning and positron emission tomography (PET) scanning to assess your cancer.
Minimally invasive Stomach Cancer Surgery
If your stomach cancer is operable, our surgeons may perform a subtotal or partial gastrectomy (removal of part of the stomach containing the cancer) or a total gastrectomy (removal of the entire stomach, connecting the esophagus to the small intestine).
- Endoscopy. Some patients with early gastric cancer may benefit from endoscopic techniques, such as EMR and ESD. We perform EMR and ESD to remove shallow lesions without the need for surgery.
- Minimally invasive surgery. We perform these procedures using minimal invasive techniques—either conventional laparoscopy or robotic-assisted, according to the surgeons preference—whenever possible, resulting in smaller incisions, less blood loss and less pain after surgery, a quicker recovery, and a shorter hospital stay.
- D-2 lymphadenectomy. We also perform D-2 lymphadenectomy, a technically challenging surgical procedure performed during gastric cancer surgery to remove cancerous lymph nodes, which is important for accurate staging and future treatment.
GIST surgery If you have a gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST)—a rare type of gastric tumor that usually begins in the lining of the stomach—we may use a combination of endoscopy and laparoscopy to remove the tumor.