Early Gastric Carcinoma

**Semantic type:** Neoplastic Process

**Definition:** An invasive adenocarcinoma confined to the mucosa or mucosa and submucosa of the gastric wall. The regional lymph nodes may or may not be involved. It usually occurs in the lesser curvature. The 5-year survival rate following resection is between 80 percent and 95 percent, and remains high even when lymph node metastases are present.

**Synonyms:** - EGC - Early Gastric Cancer - Microinvasive Gastric Cancer - Superficial Gastric Cancer - Superficial Spreading Gastric Cancer - Surface Gastric Cancer