What does MOGC mean in ONCOLOGY

What Causes Metastatic Oesophago Gastric Cancer?

MOGC is typically caused by an abnormality in certain genes called oncogenes. These genetic abnormalities may occur due to exposure to certain environmental factors, such as radiation or chemicals. Alternatively, they can also occur spontaneously without any known cause. Once these genetic abnormalities are present in the cells of the oesophagus, it causes them to grow out of control and form tumors throughout the entire gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The tumor then begins to spread beyond its initial site and into other organs of the body.

Diagnosis

MOGC can be difficult to diagnose since symptoms do not usually appear until later stages of progression. Common symptoms include trouble swallowing food or liquids; fatigue; weight loss; abdominal pain; nausea; vomiting; and blood in vomit or stool. If these symptoms are present, further evaluation must be done in order to make a diagnosis of MOGC. This usually involves imaging tests such as PET scans or MRI's as well as biopsies of any suspicious areas found on imaging tests.

Treatment

Once a diagnosis of MOGC has been made, treatment will depend on several factors including disease stage at diagnosis and general patient health status/age among others. Common treatments include surgery (to remove tumors), chemotherapy (to kill cancer cells) and radiation therapy (to shrink tumors). More recently targeted therapies have been used which specifically target mutations within cancer cells that contribute to tumor growth and spread — something traditional treatments such as chemotherapy can not do alone. Patients with metastatic disease often need multiple lines of treatment with combinations of different forms of therapy over time in order to keep their disease under control as much as possible for prolonged periods of time.