Stomach cancer in young patients in South Korea has been on the rise recently.
However, hope for better treatment could be on the horizon as local researchers say they've identified the genes behind the disease.
Park Se-young has more.

Stomach cancer is the most common type of cancer in Korea, and about 15 percent of stomach cancer cases affect people under 40.
Gastric cancer has a high mortality rate because it rarely has early symptoms and it spreads rapidly.

"Gastric cancer is usually found in elderly people. Gastric cancer at a young age tends to spread quickly and is often diagnosed too late."

Based on the analysis of genes and proteins from cancer in 80 patients with early-onset gastric cancer, …Korean researchers have discovered three gene mutations associated with the disease.
They were also able to identify four subtypes of gastric cancer, …which could lead to personalized treatment.

"The subtypes were found by analyzing genes and proteins. Since each subtype comes with different cellular signaling, we can use that to develop medicines."

The findings are expected to pave the way for more accurate diagnosis and treatment of the disease.
Park Se-young, Arirang News.