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.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death among women, yet sex-specific cardiovascular risks often go unrecognized.

Four medical societies — the American Heart Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine — have issued new guidance to help clinicians identify these risks early and improve heart health in women and girls.

The guidance highlights heavy periods, irregular menstrual cycles and pregnancy complications as potential indicators of cardiovascular risk. It also introduces a “Female Life Stages” framework to guide prevention from puberty through menopause and beyond.

“Women experience their health care across clinical specialties, but it often is fragmented or disconnected,” said Sadiya S. Khan, chair of the collaborative writing group and professor of cardiovascular epidemiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

What Does The New Guidance Include?

Progress in preventing cardiovascular deaths among women has stalled over the past two decades. The new framework identifies four life stages as opportunities for early risk detection and prevention.

• Perimenarche (ages 8–15): The transition around the first menstrual period.
• Ovarian cycling (ages 15–44): The stage when regular ovulatory and hormonal cycles are established.
• Perimenopause (ages 45–51): The transition marked by irregular cycles and hormonal changes.
• Postmenopause (age 51 onward): The years after menopause, defined as 12 months after the final menstrual period.

Pregnancy, at any stage, is also described as a biological “stress test” that can reveal previously unrecognized cardiovascular risks.

Women's Heart Risks: Heavy Periods And Irregular Cycles

The guidance recognizes menstrual patterns as a female-specific vital sign. Heavy or irregular bleeding may indicate cardiovascular risk, including risks associated with polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS), previously known as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

Women's Heart Risks: Perimenopause And Postmenopause

Changes in cholesterol and metabolic health during perimenopause may signal rising cardiovascular risk. Early identification and preventive action may help reduce future risk.

The years after menopause can also account for up to 40% of a woman’s lifetime. Most heart attacks, strokes and heart failure events occur during this stage, according to the guidance. More than 80% of these events are considered preventable through early action.

Women's Heart Risks: Pregnancy Complications And Mental Health

High blood pressure, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, preterm birth, small-for-gestational-age infants and stillbirth are recognized as female-specific cardiovascular risk enhancers.

The 2026 American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology cholesterol guideline also includes pregnancy-related factors in cardiovascular risk assessment.

Only about 60% of U.S. women with high blood pressure-related pregnancy complications receive follow-up care for their blood pressure within six months of delivery. The collaborating societies are calling for action to close this gap and ensure cardiovascular risks identified during pregnancy receive continued attention.

Need For Dedicated Women's Heart Care Centers

The societies propose a national network of Comprehensive Centers of Excellence for Women’s Cardiovascular Care, focused on clinical care, professional education, research and community engagement.

They also call for greater inclusion of women in research, increased funding for women’s health and better translation of evidence into clinical practice.

There’s a new update in Novo Nordisk Vs Eli Lilly lawsuit over weight loss ads. On Monday, a US judge ruled in favour of Eli Lilly, rejecting Novo Nordisk’s request to block the Zepbound maker’s advertisements. The Danish drugmaker claimed that those advertisements were false and misleading, which affected markets with tens of billions of dollars of annual sales.

Eli Lilly Can Continue Running Ads Amid Novo Nordisk’s Lawsuit

US District Judge Zahid Quraishi in Trenton, New Jersey, said that Novo Nordisk must not receive a preliminary injunction, as they have failed to prove that Eli Lilly's ads threatened their sales, marred its goodwill, or caused irreparable damage to clinical reputation.

Talking about Novo Nordisk's claim of irreparable harm, Quraishi said they were "inadequate to warrant ⁠the extraordinary relief it seeks."

Quraishi also said that Novo Nordisk's case is "less than persuasive" based on a "very preliminary record.” Not considering these merits, the judge passed the ruling after a two-day hearing in August.

In his 25-page decision, Quraishi said that even though Novo Nordisk's witnesses were reliable, Eli Lilly's ads had a negligible market impact between April and July. The judge also said that Novo Nordisk's business remained stable.

The judge also said that monetary compensation could help Novo Nordisk if it faces any "nontrivial harm" due to absence of ⁠injunction.

Novo Nordisk had reported combined sales of about $32 billion for obesity medicines and Ozempic in 2025, according to the court papers. The drugmaker intends to regain market share in the United States for its injectable obesity drugs, a market that could exceed $100 billion by the end of the decade.

According to Reuters, Novo Nordisk said, “While we are disappointed with the court’s decision, today's ruling did not decide the question of whether Lilly's advertising is false and misleading, and this litigation is still ongoing. Everyone deserves clear, accurate and up-to-date information when making decisions about their health.”

Denying any wrongdoing, Eli Lilly said it welcomed the court’s decision.

Also read: GLP-1 Drugs Ozempic, Zepbound Use Rises 24-Fold Among American Women After Childbirth

What Is The Lawsuit About?

In July, Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk had filed a lawsuit against Eli Lilly in the US District Court in New Jersey, alleging the company violated federal and state false advertising and unfair competition laws, including the Lanham Act, through nationwide advertising campaigns for its obesity drug Zepbound and diabetes treatment Mounjaro, according to media reports.

Alleging that Eli Lilly’s ads used outdated comparisons,Novo claims Lilly's advertisements:

• Compared the highest approved doses of Zepbound and Mounjaro with lower doses of Novo's Wegovy and Ozempic.
• Omitted data on the newer 7.2 mg dose of Wegovy, which, as per Novo, delivers greater weight loss.
• Relied on older clinical trial data that no longer reflects current approved dosing.

Eli Lilly rejected the allegations, saying its advertisements accurately reflect findings from its SURMOUNT-5 clinical trial. According to the company:

• The study, completed in 2024, compared 10 mg and 15 mg doses of Zepbound with 1.7 mg and 2.4 mg doses of Wegovy.
• Novo's 7.2 mg Wegovy received US FDA approval only in March 2026, after the trial had concluded.

More About GLP-1 Therapies

Also read: Eli Lilly's Experimental GLP-1 Pill Shows Promising Weight Loss

In December 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued its first guideline on the use of GLP-1 therapies for obesity, describing the condition as a chronic, relapsing disease affecting more than 1 billion people worldwide.

It recommends GLP-1 therapies may be used for long-term obesity treatment in adults, excluding pregnant women. Treatment should be combined with structured lifestyle interventions, including a healthy diet, regular physical activity, and behavioral support to improve outcomes.

Dr. Vivek Bindal, Principal Director & Head at Max Institute of Minimal Access, Bariatric & Robotic Surgery, said, “Newer anti-obesity medicines, including GLP-1-based and related therapies, have significantly expanded the options available to patients. They can support meaningful weight loss and improve metabolic health when combined with appropriate nutrition, physical activity and behavioural support.”

An experimental cancer drug being developed by pharmaceutical giant Merck has extended survival by almost seven months in women with advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer, according to results from a late-stage clinical trial. The treatment also reduced the risk of cancer progression or death compared to standard chemotherapy.

The findings were presented at the 2026 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress and published in The Lancet. The drug, sacituzumab tirumotecan, also known as sac-TMT, was tested in patients whose cancer had returned or progressed after previous treatment.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the drug for priority review. Their decision is expected by June 2027, although the company hopes that the drug approval could arrive sooner than expected.

Findings From The Trial

Also read: 'Contraceptive Coil Saved My Life': UK Woman's Persistent Abdominal Pain Led Her To Ovarian Cancer Diagnosis

The Phase 3 TroFuse-005 trial enrolled 776 patients with advanced endometrial cancer that had returned. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either sac-TMT or chemotherapy, consisting doxorubicin or paclitaxel.

Patients receiving sac-TMT had a median overall survival of 19 months, compared to 12.1 months among those receiving chemotherapy. This represents a 6.9-month difference in median survival and a 32% reduction in the risk of death.

The experimental treatment also showed improvement in progression-free survival, which measures how long patients live without their cancer worsening. Median progression-free survival was 7.2 months with sac-TMT, compared to 3.9 months with chemotherapy, representing a 41% reduction in the risk of disease progression or death.

Tumours shrank in 35.1% of patients receiving sac-TMT, compared with 17.3% in the chemotherapy group.

“Sac-TMT demonstrated an improvement in overall survival of almost seven months for women with endometrial cancer who progress following treatment with platinum-based chemotherapy and anti-PD-1 therapy,” said Dean Y. Li, president of Merck Research Laboratories.

The findings are particularly relevant for patients whose disease progresses after platinum-based chemotherapy and immunotherapy, limiting their treatment options.

How Does Sac-TMT Work?

Also read: Women Are Travelling To Mexico For Endometriosis Surgery As Canada Is Doing A 'Poor' Job At Providing Care

Sac-TMT belongs to a class of medicines called antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). These treatments combine an antibody that recognises a target on cancer cells with a drug designed to kill them.

Sac-TMT targets TROP2, a protein found on the surface of many cancer cells, including endometrial tumours. After binding to its target, the drug delivers a cancer killing payload that damage the tumour cells.

It aims to direct treatment towards cancer cells, but it does not eliminate the possibility of side effects in healthy tissues. Merck is developing sac-TMT in partnership with Chinese biotechnology company Kelun-Biotech, which discovered the drug.

Side Effects Of Sac-TMT

The survival benefit came with a higher rate of severe treatment-related side effects. Grade 3 or higher treatment-related adverse events occurred in 54.4% of patients receiving sac-TMT, compared to 41.4% of those undergoing chemotherapy.

Common serious adverse events included anaemia and neutropenia, a reduction in neutrophils, the white blood cells that help the body fight infections. About 3.1% of patients in the sac-TMT group stopped the treatment because of side effects. The findings highlight the need to weigh the survival benefit against treatment risks.

Endometrial cancer develops in the lining of the uterus and is among the most common gynaecological cancers. Advanced or recurrent disease can be difficult to treat, particularly when it progresses after chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

The researchers believe the trial results could help expand treatment options for this group of patients. “Based on discussions with the FDA, the company is hopeful for an approval before the PDUFA date to bring sac-TMT to patients as quickly as possible,” Li said.