At Columbia’s Center for Gastric Cancer Care we are dedicated to the care, treatment and support of patients with cancerous and noncancerous tumors of the stomach.
Here at the Center, expert clinicians and researchers collaborate to provide unsurpassed diagnosis, treatment and compassionate care for patients with gastric cancer and other stomach diseases. Our patients benefit from the most cutting-edge medical and technological advancements in the field. Equally important is the supportive care we provide as patients cope with the physical and emotional issues that often come with a cancer diagnosis.
Gastric cancer is cancer that originates in the stomach, usually in cells of the inner layer. Over time, the cancer may invade more deeply into the stomach wall. Because early symptoms--such as bloating, gas, heartburn, and fullness--usually indicate other, less serious disorders, diagnosis for gastric cancer is often delayed. A stomach cancer can grow very large before it causes other symptoms.
One of our primary goals is to ensure that our patients and their loved ones can pursue lives without gastric cancer. We believe that prevention, early detection, and proper treatment of gastric cancer, along with unyielding research in pursuit of a cure, are critical to achieving our ultimate vision of world-wide elimination of deaths and suffering from stomach cancer.
Conditions We Treat
Our multidisciplinary team is dedicated to bringing the most advanced, comprehensive and individualized treatment strategies to the cure and care of our patients with cancerous, precancerous and non-cancerous tumors of the stomach.
- Stomach cancers: including gastric adenocarcinoma, and premalignant gastric adenomas including those with high grade dysplasia and low grade dysplasia
- Squamous cell carcinoma of the stomach
- Giant cell carcinoma
- Lymphoma
- Gastric metaplasia
- Gastrointestinal tumors (GISTs) of the stomach
- Neuroendocrine tumors of the stomach including carcinoids and gastrinomas
- Other neoplastic lesions of the stomach including leiomyomas, schwannomas, lipomas, and gastric polyps
- Non-neoplastic lesions of the stomach including hyperplastic polyps, inflammatory polyps, and hamartomatous polyps
Our Services
We offer a comprehensive array of services developed to accurately diagnose and treat stomach tumors.
- Initial consultation with a surgeon specially trained to treat gastric tumors who will lead your treatment strategy
- Input of experts in various subspecialties at a gastric diseases conference
- Endoscopic mucosal resection and endoscopic submuscosal dissection for tumors amenable to endoscopic removal
- Robotic surgery for curative therapy
- Nutritional support for all patients before and after surgery, during chemotherapy and radiation treatment
- Palliative care and pain management
Advanced Techniques
Our Center for Excellence in Gastric Cancer Care is among the first in the United States to introduce new technological advances into clinical practice, including both diagnostic and therapeutic tools.
- The Confocal Laser Endomicroscope obtains enhanced images of the stomach wall to detect and treat early cancer that are not visible by other methods.
- Robotic Surgery is an oncologically sound minimally invasive approach to treatment of gastric cancer.
- D-2 Lymphadenectomy is a technically challenging surgical procedure performed during gastric cancer surgery to improve locoregional control.
