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How common is stomach cancer?

The American Cancer Society’s estimates for stomach cancer (also known as gastric cancer) in the United States for 2024 are:

• About 26,890 new cases of stomach cancer (16,160 in men and 10,730 in women)
• About 10,880 deaths from this type of cancer (6,490 men and 4,390 women)

Stomach cancer accounts for about 1.5% of all new cancers diagnosed in the US each year.

Who gets stomach cancer?

Stomach cancer mostly affects older people. The average age of people when they are diagnosed is 68. About 6 of every 10 people diagnosed with stomach cancer each year are 65 or older.

The lifetime risk of developing stomach cancer is higher in men (about 1 in 101) than in women (about 1 in 155). But each person's risk can be affected by many other factors.

Stomach cancer trends over time

In the US, the number of new cases of stomach cancer has been dropping by about 1.5% each year over the last 10 years.

For much of the early 20th century, stomach cancer was the leading cause of cancer death in the United States, but today it is well down on this list. The reasons for this aren't completely clear, but two main factors are thought to have been important:

• The increased use of refrigeration for food storage, which has led to people eating fewer salted and smoked foods (known risk factors for stomach cancer).
• The decline in the number of people infected with the Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) bacteria, which is thought to be a major cause of stomach cancer.

While stomach cancer has become less common in the US, it's still much more common in some other parts of the world, particularly in East Asia. It remains one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths in the world.

For statistics on survival for stomach cancer, see Survival Rates for Stomach Cancer.

Visit the American Cancer Society’s for more key statistics.