Bay Biosciences provides  gastric (stomach) cancer tumor tissue specimens, FFPE blocks with matching cryogenically preserved sera (serum), plasma and PBMCs to a valued pharmaceutical customer for research, development and drug discover.

Moreover, the serum, plasma and PBMCs are processed from patients whole blood using customized processing protocols. from unique gastric cancer patients. 

Gastric Cancer Overview

Gastric cancer, also called stomach cancer, starts in the stomach. Specifically, cancer starts when cells in the body begin to grow out of control. Notably, cells in nearly any part of the body can become cancerous and can metastasize (spread) to other areas (organs) of the body.

According to the American Cancer Society’s estimates, there will be around 26,560 new cases of stomach cancer  (16,160 in men and 10,400 in women) in the United States; moreover, around 11,180 deaths will be caused by stomach cancer.

In general, stomach or gastric cancers usually develop slowly over many years. Before it becomes full-blown cancer, precancerous changes (dysplasia) often occur in the inner lining (mucosa) of the stomach. However, these early changes rarely cause signs and symptoms; therefore, they often go undetected for a long time.

Additionally, cancer starting in different sections of the stomach may cause different symptoms and tend to have different outcomes. Furthermore, the cancer’s location can also affect the treatment options. For example, cancers that start at the gastroesophageal junction are staged and treated the same as cancers of the esophagus.

Similarly, a cancer that starts in the cardia of the stomach but then grows into the gastroesophageal junction is also staged and treated like a cancer of the esophagus.

Stomach Function

As we have meals, and subsequently the food is chewed and swallowed in the mouth, it enters the esophagus, a tube that carries food through the throat and chest to the stomach. The esophagus joins the stomach at the gastroesophageal junction, which is located just beneath the diaphragm, which, in turn, is the thin sheet of breathing muscle under the lungs.

The stomach is an organ that holds and digests food that we eat. Furthermore, as soon as food enters the stomach, it releases gastric juices made up of digestive enzymes and gastric acid, which help in breaking down and digesting the food.

Consequently, gastric juices secreted by the stomach are mixed with the food and then emptied into the first part of the small intestine called the duodenum.

Location

In terms of location, the stomach is generally referred to as the area of the body between the chest and the pelvic area; however, clinically, the stomach is characterized as the abdomen, which consists of many different parts. For example, the appendix, colon, which is the large intestine, the small intestine, and other organs such as the spleen, liver, and pancreas are located in the abdomen.

Moreover, cancers that occur in different parts or organs of the abdomen such as small intestine, colon, pancreas or the liver have different characteristics, symptoms, outlooks, treatments and outcomes.

Functions of the Stomach

The stomach looks like a sac, and it consists of the following five different parts: three upper parts (proximal stomach) and two lower parts (distal stomach), each performing different functions.

  • Firstly, the Cardia – this is the first part of the stomach, connected to the esophagus.
  • Secondly, the Fundus – this is the upper part of the stomach, which is connected to the cardia.
  • Next, the Body (corpus) – this is the middle main part of the stomach, located between the upper part of the stomach (fundus) and the lower part of the stomach (antrum).
  • Following that, we have the Antrum – this is the lower part of the stomach, located near the small intestine. Here, food is mixed with the gastric juices.
  • Finally, the Pylorus – this is the last lower part of the stomach, which controls the passing and emptying of the stomach contents into the small intestine.

Proximal Stomach

Proximal stomach, in fact, consists of the first three parts of the stomach, namely the cardia, fundus, and the body. Furthermore, cells in the proximal stomach make acid and pepsin, which is a digestive enzyme.

Consequently, these parts produce the gastric juices that help digest food. Additionally, the proximal stomach also produces intrinsic factor, which is an important protein that the body requires to absorb vitamin B12 from the food we eat.

Distal Stomach

Distal stomach, which consists of the lower two parts, antrum and pylorus, has two curves, which form its inner and outer borders. Specifically, these are called the lesser curvature and greater curvature, respectively.

Furthermore, the stomach consists of the following five inner layers of the stomach wall:

  • 1. Mucosa – This is where stomach acid and digestive enzymes are made in this part of the stomach. Most stomach cancers start in the mucosa
  • 2. Submucosa – This is the supporting layer to mucosa.
  • 3. Muscularis propria – This is the thick layer of muscle located outside of the submucosa that moves and mixes the stomach contents.
  • 4. Subserosa – This is a thin layer of tissue in the wall of the outer stomach.
  • 5. Serosa – Gastric serosa is the outermost layer of the stomach wall.

Consequently, the above stomach layers are important in determining stomach or gastric cancers and in helping to determine a patient’s prognosis (outlook). As the cancer grows from the mucosa into deeper layers of the stomach, the stage becomes more advanced; therefore, the prognosis is not as good.

Types of Gastric or Stomach Cancers

Adenocarcinoma

Most of the time, stomach or gastric cancers diagnosed in patients are adenocarcinomas; in fact, they account for about 90% to 95%. Moreover, stomach or gastric cancers develop from the cells that form in the mucosa, which is the innermost lining of the stomach.

Lymphoma

In addition, lymphomas are cancers of the immune system tissue that are sometimes found in the wall of the stomach. Consequently, the treatment and outlook depend on the type of lymphoma.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST)

Furthermore, gastrointestinal stromal tumors are rare and start in very early forms of cells in the wall of the stomach called interstitial cells of Cajal. Some of these tumors are non-cancerous (benign); however, others are cancerous. Although GISTs can be found anywhere in the digestive tract (GIT), most are found in the stomach.

Carcinoid tumor

Carcinoid tumors start in hormone-making cells of the stomach. Most of these tumors do not spread (metastasize) to other organs and parts of the body.

Similarly, carcinoid tumors start in hormone-making cells of the stomach. Notably, most of these tumors do not spread (metastasize) to other organs and parts of the body.

Other cancers

Finally, other rare types of cancer, such as squamous cell carcinoma, small cell carcinoma, and leiomyosarcoma, can also develop in the stomach.

Summary

Gastric cancer, or stomach cancer, is a disease in which malignant cancer cells form in the lining of the stomach. Moreover, stomach cancer is more common in men than in women. In fact, most patients diagnosed with stomach cancer are between their late 60s and 80s.

Additionally, stomach cancers tend to develop slowly over many years. Before a true cancer develops, pre-cancerous changes often occur in the inner lining (mucosa) of the stomach. Consequently, these early changes rarely cause symptoms and therefore often go undetected. Furthermore, cancers starting in different sections of the stomach may cause different symptoms and tend to have different outcomes.

Notably, most cancers of the stomach are adenocarcinomas; in fact, stomach cancer or gastric cancer almost always is an adenocarcinoma. These cancers, in particular, develop from the cells that form the innermost lining of the stomach (the mucosa).

Biospecimens

biospecimens

Bay Biosciences is a global leader in providing researchers with high quality, clinical grade, fully characterized human tissue samples, bio-specimens, and human bio-fluid collections.

Moreover, human biospecimens are available including tumor tissue, serum, plasma and PBMC samples from most other therapeutic areas.

Furthermore, Bay Biosciences maintains and manages its own biorepository, the human tissue bank (biobank) consisting of thousands of diseased samples (specimens) and likewise normal healthy donors for controls. Additionally, available in all formats and types.

In fact, our biobank procures and stores fully consented, de-identified and institutional review boards (IRB) approved human tissue samples, human biofluids such as serum samples, plasma samples from various diseases and matched controls.

Also, all our human tissue collections, human biospecimens and human biofluids are provided with detailed, samples associated patient’s clinical data.

In fact, this critical patient’s clinical data includes information relating to their past and current disease, treatment history, lifestyle choices, biomarkers, and genetic information.

Additionally, researchers find the patient’s data associated with the human biospecimens extremely valuable and use it to help identify new effective treatments (drug discovery & development) in oncology, as well as in other therapeutic areas and diseases.

Bay Biosciences banks wide variety of human tissue samples and human biological samples, including fresh frozen human biospecimens cryogenically preserved at – 80°C.

For example fresh frozen tissue samples, tumor tissue samples, formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE), tissue slides, with matching human bio-fluids, whole blood and blood-derived products such as human serum, human plasma and human PBMCs.

Bay Biosciences is a global leader in collecting and providing human tissue samples according to the specified requirements and customized, tailor-made collection protocols.

Please contact us anytime to discuss your special research projects and customized human tissue sample requirements.

Types of Biospecimens

Bay Biosciences provides human tissue samples (human specimens) and human biofluids from diseased and normal healthy donors which includes:

Moreover, we can also procure most human biospecimens and human biofluids, special collections and requests for human samples that are difficult to find. All our human tissue samples and human biofluids are procured through IRB-approved clinical protocols and procedures.

In addition to the standard processing protocols, Bay Biosciences can also provide human biofluids such as  human plasma, human serum, and human PBMCs bio-fluid samples using custom processing protocols; you buy donor-specific collections in higher volumes and specified sample aliquots from us.

Bay Biosciences also provides human biospecimens from normal healthy donors; volunteers, for controls and clinical research, Contact us Now.