Key Statistics About Stomach Cancer

Learn about key statistics for stomach cancer, including how common it is and who is most affected.

How common is stomach cancer?

The American Cancer Society’s estimates for stomach cancer (also known as gastric cancer) in the United States for 2026 are:

• About 31,510 new cases of stomach cancer (17,900 in men and 13,610 in women)
• About 10,740 deaths from this type of cancer (6,360 in men and 4,380 in women)

Stomach cancer accounts for about 1.5% of all new cancers diagnosed in the US each year.

Who gets stomach cancer?

Stomach cancer mostly affects older people. The average age of people when they are diagnosed is 68. About 6 of every 10 people diagnosed with stomach cancer each year are 65 or older.

The lifetime risk of developing stomach cancer is higher in men (about 1 in 104) than in women (about 1 in 153). But each person's risk can be affected by many other factors.

Stomach cancer trends over time

For much of the early 20th century, stomach cancer was the leading cause of cancer death in the United States, but today it is well down on this list. Two main factors are thought to be responsible for this:

• More use of refrigeration for food storage, which has led to people eating fewer salted and smoked foods (known risk factors for stomach cancer).
• Fewer people infected with the Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) bacteria, which is thought to be a major cause of stomach cancer.

While stomach cancer has become less common in the US, it's still common in some other parts of the world, particularly in East Asia. It remains one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths in the world.

More stomach cancer statistics

See also Survival Rates for Stomach Cancer.

Visit the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Statistics Center for more key statistics.