Stomach cancer is a type of cancer that develops in the lining of the stomach. Also, known as Gastric cancer, it affects the elderly more than the adult. According to the American Cancer Society, about 6 of every 10 people diagnosed with stomach cancer each year are 65 or older. Also, the lifetime risk of developing stomach cancer is higher in men (about 1 in 101) than in women (about 1 in 155).

A health expert, speaking to a leading media house, emphasized five common symptoms of stomach cancer that should not be ignored:

1. Unexplained weight loss: Losing weight without trying or experiencing an unexplained drop in appetite, which may signal cancer progression.

2. Pain in the upper part of the abdomen: Persistent or occasional pain in the stomach area, often after eating, can become more severe as the condition progresses.

3. Frequent vomiting after meals: Nausea, sometimes accompanied by vomiting, may occur especially after meals and is linked to cancer blocking or irritating the stomach.

4. Vomiting blood, which may appear coffee-colored: This can indicate bleeding in the stomach, often caused by ulcers or tumors, and requires immediate medical attention.

5. Black, tarry stools: This occurs when blood from the stomach is digested and passed through the intestines, signaling potential internal bleeding

There are also other concerning signs that should not be overlooked such as jaundice, unexplained weight loss, early onset of diabetes, dark stools, and loss of appetite. Health experts strongly advise seeking immediate medical attention if you notice any of these symptoms. If you or a loved one experience these signs, it's crucial to visit a physician for a thorough evaluation to rule out serious underlying health conditions.

How Does Stomach Cancer Spread?

Oncologist Dr Pankaj Kumar Pande, Director–Surgical Oncology, Max Super Specialty Hospital, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi explained that this form of cancer spreads through three main pathways: Direct spread, lymphatic spread, and bloodstream.

1. Direct Spread: In its early stages, stomach cancer can invade nearby tissues and grow into the deeper layers of the stomach or spread to surrounding organs such as the oesophagus, liver, pancreas, or intestines.

2. Lymphatic Spread: Cancer cells can travel through the lymphatic system. The most common areas affected are the regional lymph nodes near the stomach, particularly those around the liver and diaphragm.

3. Bloodstream: "Cancer cells can enter the bloodstream and travel to distant parts of the body," which is a common route for stomach cancer to metastasize to distant organs.

He further explained that cancerous cells spread from the original tumour to other parts of the body through a process called Metastasis. The most common sites for the spread are the liver, lymph nodes, peritoneum, lungs, bones, and ovaries.

NHS England has announced the expansion of Martha’s Rule to all hospital emergency departments and waiting rooms in England to help patients, families and staff raise concerns about worsening conditions.

Martha’s Rule was introduced following the death of 13-year-old Martha Mills and mandated at acute inpatient sites in 2025. Its expansion to A&Es will be phased in and completed by March 2028.

“A&Es see some of our most vulnerable patients, so the ability to raise concerns about deterioration quickly and trigger a rapid review of care is essential,” said Professor Aidan Fowler, National Director of Patient Safety at NHS England.

“Martha’s Rule is already having a transformative effect in making our acute care even safer, and by expanding Martha’s Rule into A&Es, we are giving even more patients, their families and NHS staff a critical new lifeline to help improve care and save more lives,” he added.

How Will Martha’s Rule Work In A&E?

Also read: UK Flu Jabs Begin For Children And Pregnant Women: What You Need To Know

An NHS England pilot, conducted between September 2025 and March 2026, found that Martha’s Rule could work alongside existing emergency-care procedures to identify early signs of deterioration without requiring additional clinical staff.

During the pilot, 69 calls were made to dedicated Martha’s Rule numbers. Some resulted in urgent surgery or transfer to intensive care.

“Martha’s Rule is about making sure patients and their loved ones are heard when they raise concerns about their care,” said Health and Social Care Minister Baroness Merron.

“Expanding it to A&E will give patients, families and staff another way to speak up when they are worried that someone’s condition is getting worse, ensuring concerns are acted on quickly,” Merron added.

Who Was Martha Mills?

Martha’s Rule is named after 13-year-old Martha Mills, who developed sepsis while being treated at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in south London in 2021 and later died.

Her parents repeatedly raised concerns about her worsening condition. An investigation later found that Martha might have survived if signs of deterioration had been recognized and she had been transferred to intensive care.

Her parents subsequently campaigned for a formal system allowing patients and families to raise concerns and seek an urgent clinical review.

How Does Martha’s Rule Work?

The rule has three main components:

• Patients are asked daily how they are feeling, with responses recorded.
• Staff can request an urgent review from another team if they are concerned about a patient.
• Patients, families and caregivers can also request an urgent review if they are worried about a worsening condition.

Hospitals provide a dedicated number that patients and families can use to request a rapid review by a different team when concerns are not being addressed.

Has Martha’s Rule Saved Lives?

In July 2026, 1,678 calls were made through Martha’s Rule — the highest monthly total so far.

More than 19,000 calls (19,177) were made by patients, families and NHS staff between September 2024 and July 2026.

The rule has been rolled out at 221 acute adult and pediatric inpatient sites, with the current rollout expected to be completed in 2026/27.

It is also being extended to A&E, maternity and neonatal units, with the wider rollout due to be completed by March 2028.

Novo Nordisk's next-generation obesity drug CagriSema has delivered greater weight loss than a lower dose of Eli Lilly's tirzepatide in a new late-stage trial. The trial has given giving the Danish drugmaker new evidence for its upcoming weight loss injectable as it competes in the rapidly expanding GLP-1 obesity drug market.

In the Phase 3 REIMAGINE 5 trial, adults with type 2 diabetes receiving CagriSema lost an estimated 12.4% of their body weight after 60 weeks, compared with 9.1% among those receiving 5 mg of tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Lilly's Mounjaro and Zepbound. CagriSema also resulted reduction in HbA1c, a measure of average blood sugar.

However, the trial compared 1 mg/1 mg CagriSema to 5 mg tirzepatide, rather than the highest doses used in obesity treatment. Earlier this year, a separate Phase 3 trial in people with obesity found that CagriSema did not meet its goal against high-dose 15 mg tirzepatide. At 84 weeks, CagriSema resulted in 23% weight loss compared to 25.5% with tirzepatide.

What Is CagriSema?

CagriSema is a once-weekly injection that combines two active ingredients: semaglutide and cagrilintide.

Semaglutide is the active ingredient in Novo's Wegovy and Ozempic. It belongs to the GLP-1 receptor agonist class and helps reduce appetite and food intake. Cagrilintide mimics amylin, a hormone involved in appetite regulation and feelings of fullness. By combining the two medicines, Novo is attempting to produce greater weight loss results.

Unlike Wegovy and Ozempic, however, CagriSema is still investigational. Novo submitted it to the US FDA for weight management in December 2025. The regulatory decision is expected in the fourth quarter of 2026.

Also read: Hundreds Of American GLP-1 Users Sue Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly Over Vision Loss: What Is NAION?

What Did The New Trial Find?

REIMAGINE 5 is based on adults with type 2 diabetes whose blood sugar was not controlled properly with metformin, an SGLT2 inhibitor or both. After 60 weeks, CagriSema showed 12.4% average weight loss. Tirzepatide 5 mg resulted in 9.1% average weight loss.

CagriSema showed 1.71% HbA1c reduction while tirzepatide resulted in 1.67%.

Novo said the combination was generally well tolerated. Gastrointestinal side effects are among the common adverse effects that were seen with the treatment.

Novo's chief scientific officer Martin Holst Lange called the findings “very encouraging” and said they strengthen the company's confidence in CagriSema's potential.

Also read: Blood Test That Could Detect 50+ Cancers Closer To Approval As FDA Raises No Major Concerns About Its Accuracy

Is CagriSema Better Than Mounjaro Or Zepbound?

The new study establishes that CagriSema outperformed 5 mg tirzepatide for weight loss in this particular population sample with type 2 diabetes.

But tirzepatide is available at substantially higher doses, and the earlier obesity head-to-head trial compared CagriSema with 15 mg tirzepatide, where tirzepatide produced better weight loss results.

Therefore, the company has not declared that CagriSema consistently produces more weight loss than tirzepatide across all trials.

CagriSema is Novo's attempt to move beyond single-pathway GLP-1 treatment by combining GLP-1 and amylin biology. In another new Phase 3 trial, REDEFINE 9, CagriSema produced 21% weight loss after 68 weeks, compared with 2% with placebo, in adults with overweight or obesity.

Hundreds of GLP-1 users in the US are suing drugmakers Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, alleging they developed a rare form of sudden vision loss called nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) after taking drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro.

The lawsuits allege the companies failed to adequately warn patients about the potential risk, that is often irreversible.

What Is The Controversy?

US law firm Weitz & Luxenberg has filed more than 90 lawsuits in New Jersey state court since 2025 on behalf of people who say they developed NAION while taking Ozempic or Wegovy, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Separate federal lawsuits in Philadelphia accuse Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly of failing to provide adequate warnings about the potential eye-related risk. The cases are pending.

Regulators in Europe and Australia have required warnings about a possible increased risk of NAION with some GLP-1 medicines after reviewing available evidence.

In the US, vision problems are listed as possible side effects, but the FDA does not currently require NAION to be listed as a specific risk. The FDA's Sentinel Initiative is reviewing the possible safety signal linking GLP-1 drugs to NAION.

"The FDA routinely monitors the safety of drug products post-marketing. The FDA identifies safety signals from a variety of sources, evaluates the available data and takes regulatory actions when appropriate,” an FDA spokesperson said, according to ABC News.

Also read: Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound May Fuel Rare Brain Disorder, Study Finds

What Do The Drugmakers Say?

Novo Nordisk, which makes Ozempic and Wegovy, said it takes “all reports of adverse events very seriously” but called the personal injury lawsuits "without merit."

The company said it is "committed to patient safety and continuously monitors the safety profile of our GLP-1 RA products." It added that if "emerging safety data warrant further action, appropriate measures will be implemented".

Lilly, which makes Zepbound and Mounjaro, said patient safety is its "top priority."

"We actively monitor, evaluate, and report safety information for all our medicines to the FDA," the company said, adding that it continues to review data on potential ophthalmic issues.

What Does The Science Say?

The evidence linking GLP-1 drugs to NAION remains mixed. Some observational studies have found an association, while others have not. Researchers have not established that GLP-1 drugs cause NAION.

What Studies Have Found

• 2025 JAMA study: Among more than 159,000 people with type 2 diabetes, 35 GLP-1 users developed NAION versus 19 in the comparison group. Researchers also found an increased risk of other optic nerve disorders in 93 patients.
• Another 2025 JAMA study: Found no statistically significant association between GLP-1 use and NAION, although it reported a slight increase in diabetic retinopathy.
• 2026 safety analysis: A British Journal of Ophthalmology analysis of more than 30 million FDA adverse-event reports from 2017 to 2024 identified a safety signal linking semaglutide medicines to NAION.
• Wegovy vs Ozempic: The signal was nearly five times stronger for Wegovy than Ozempic, although both contain semaglutide.

The North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society and American Academy of Ophthalmology said studies have produced mixed results.

"While many report a small possible increased risk of NAION in patients taking GLP-1 RAs such as semaglutide, some studies report no correlation, and the overall magnitude of the risk of NAION remains low,” the groups said.

Read More: Exclusive: GLP-1 Drugs Are The ‘New Statins’, Says University Hospital Birmingham Professor

What Is NAION?

NAION is the most common acute optic neuropathy in people over 50, according to Mayo Clinic. It occurs when blood flow to the optic nerve is suddenly reduced, damaging the nerve that carries visual information from the eye to the brain.

It typically causes painless vision loss in one eye.

Some patients experience partial improvement, but vision loss is often permanent. There is currently no proven treatment to reverse the damage.

Diabetes itself can increase the risk of NAION, regardless of GLP-1 use. Other risk factors include overnight low blood pressure and having a very small optic nerve cup.