 Gastric cancer is an important health problem, being the fourth most common cancer and the third leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Age standardized mortality rates for gastric cancer are 14.3 per 100 000 in men and 6.9 per 100 000 in women. Incidence shows clear regional and sex variations-rates are highest in Eastern Asia, Eastern Europe, and South America and lowest in Northern and Southern Africa. More than 679 000 new cases and 498,000 deaths occur every year in China, and an increasing trend of proximal gastric cancer is observed during the past years. 