Does excessive salt intake lead to stomach cancer?

Question

Hello doctor,

I have heard that excessive salt intake may be linked to stomach cancer, and as someone who enjoys salty foods, I am concerned about the potential risks. Can you provide insights into the relationship between salt consumption and stomach cancer, as well as recommendations for reducing salt intake to lower my risk of developing this condition? Please give suggestions.

Thank you.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I read your query and can understand your concern.

The bacterium Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is the major risk factor for stomach cancer, causing one in three stomach cancers. It can lead to inflammation and gastric ulcers, which can progress into stomach cancer, and salt has been found to increase the action of H. pylori. Because of this, the recommended salt intake can be a maximum of no more than 0.211 ounces per day, but still, predominantly, the current average daily salt intake is around 0.282 ounces.

The routine tests done to identify the molecular biomarkers in gastric carcinoma (cancer that starts in the cells lining the stomach) are:

Overexpression (an easy way to activate the transcription of all pathway-specific genes) of human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2 [ERBB2]). This permits the selection of patients with advanced disease who might benefit from Trastuzumab (a type of targeted cancer drug called a monoclonal antibody).
Overexpression of programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1)(a protein that acts as a kind of “brake” to keep the body's immune responses under control) /deficient mismatch repair (dMMR) (cells that have mutations in certain genes that are involved in correcting mistakes made when DNA is copied in a cell).
High levels of tumor mutational burden, all of which may identify patients with advanced disease with the potential to benefit from immune checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy.

I hope this information will help you.

Kindly revert in case of further queries.

Thank you.