Nutraceuticals as potential therapeutic agents for preventing gastric cancer: towards targeting chronic inflammation

Gastric cancer (GC) has been consistently ranked among the top malignancies affecting humans after lung, breast, colon/rectum, prostate and skin cancers. It represents the world’s fifth-most frequent malignancy and the third leading cause of cancer death1. This type of cancer arises from malignant cells in the stomach lining and can thus be categorized into two topographic subsites: cardia gastric cancers, which arise closest to the esophagus, and noncardia cancers, which arise in the distal portions of the stomach1. Chronic inflammation caused by Helicobacter pylori infection and autoimmune gastritis complicates the development of these two major types of gastric cancer, though adenocarcinomas, which arise from epithelial cells in the chronically inflamed gastric mucosa, account for more than 90% of stomach cancers2. Even though Helicobacter pylori has been identified as a carcinogen and a major cause of GC, many gastric illnesses have been implicated in the disease, including chronic gastritis, stomach and duodenum ulcers, and lymphomas of the mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue system3. Gastric cancer is caused by several risk factors, including infections, diet, genetics, lifestyle, and the environment, all of which can be avoided by making adjustments to avoid the risk factors.