Who dies of stomach cancer?
In the median of the 36 countries that publish causes of death by age, 1.0% of men and 0.63% of women eventually die of stomach cancer. It is never the most likely cause of death for any one country, sex and age group — but it adds up over a lifetime.
The risk by age
Chance of dying of stomach cancer within 10 years, and its share of all the risk at that age — the median of 36 countries. Your own country's numbers are one click away on its page.
| Age | men | women |
|---|---|---|
| 15–19 | <0.01% (0.14% of the risk) | <0.01% (0.12% of the risk) |
| 20–24 | <0.01% (0.29% of the risk) | <0.01% (0.69% of the risk) |
| 25–29 | <0.01% (0.59% of the risk) | <0.01% (1.4% of the risk) |
| 30–34 | 0.01% (1.0% of the risk) | 0.01% (1.7% of the risk) |
| 35–39 | 0.02% (1.2% of the risk) | 0.01% (1.8% of the risk) |
| 40–44 | 0.04% (1.4% of the risk) | 0.02% (1.8% of the risk) |
| 45–49 | 0.06% (1.5% of the risk) | 0.04% (1.7% of the risk) |
| 50–54 | 0.10% (1.6% of the risk) | 0.06% (1.5% of the risk) |
| 55–59 | 0.17% (1.6% of the risk) | 0.08% (1.3% of the risk) |
| 60–64 | 0.24% (1.5% of the risk) | 0.11% (1.3% of the risk) |
| 65–69 | 0.32% (1.4% of the risk) | 0.15% (1.1% of the risk) |
| 70–74 | 0.41% (1.2% of the risk) | 0.22% (0.88% of the risk) |
| 75–79 | 0.51% (0.95% of the risk) | 0.28% (0.62% of the risk) |
| 80–84 | 0.52% (0.67% of the risk) | 0.30% (0.45% of the risk) |
| 85–89 | 0.43% (0.48% of the risk) | 0.26% (0.30% of the risk) |
| 90–94 | 0.33% (0.35% of the risk) | 0.19% (0.20% of the risk) |
Lifetime chance, men: highest and lowest countries
Lifetime chance, women: highest and lowest countries
What changes the odds
- In large cohort studies, people who smoke died of it about 1.9 times as often as people who never smoked (Carter 2015).
What you can do
- Don't smoke, and eat less salty and salt-preserved food.
- Indigestion that keeps coming back is worth checking for H. pylori — treating the infection lowers stomach cancer risk.
Act fast: Indigestion that won't go away, trouble swallowing, being sick or losing weight: see a doctor.
Sources: Maastricht VI/Florence consensus on H. pylori (2022); NHS: Stomach cancer — symptoms. General guidance, not medical advice.
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Related: Lung cancer · Colorectal cancer · Breast cancer · Prostate cancer · Pancreatic cancer · Oesophageal cancer · Liver cancer · Cervical cancer · Uterine & ovarian cancer · Leukaemia & lymphoma · Brain cancer · Melanoma (skin cancer) · Kidney cancer · Bladder cancer · Mouth, throat & larynx cancer · Other cancers
Questions
- At what age is stomach cancer most likely to be the cause of death?
- For men, stomach cancer takes its largest share of deaths at 55–59: 1.6% of the risk of dying in the next 10 years, in the median of the 36 countries that publish causes of death by age.
- Which country has the highest risk of dying of stomach cancer?
- Of the 36 countries that publish causes of death by age, Portugal has the highest lifetime chance of dying of stomach cancer for men (2.0%), and United States the lowest (0.38%).
- What raises the risk of dying of stomach cancer?
- In large cohort studies, people who smoke died of it about 1.9 times as often as people who never smoked (Carter 2015).
Computed by Odainn from official mortality statistics (Eurostat; ONS, NRS and NISRA; CDC; Statistics Canada) for 36 countries, latest years — how we calculate. Belarus is left out: deaths by cause and age aren't published together there, so the split by cause is our estimate. Population statistics, not a prediction for any individual. Educational, not medical advice.