Researchers find that patients with a family history of a condition called Lynch syndrome are at increased risk for gastric cancer, in addition to colorectal cancer. Later studies indicate that first-degree relatives (e.g., a parent or sibling) of patients with gastric cancer have a two- to three-fold increased risk of developing the disease, compared to the general population. These findings help doctors identify patients at high risk for developing the disease, potentially improving the chances of finding the cancer early when treatment is likely to be more effective.

Doctors begin using advanced ultrasound techniques to assess the size, depth and spread of gastric cancers. In a procedure call endoscopic ultrasound, a thin, lighted tube is passed through the patient's mouth and into the stomach. The device then uses sound waves to create an image of the inside of the stomach.

Subsequent refinements to the procedure enable doctors to obtain small tumor biopsies or even to remove early-stage gastric tumors and precancerous lesions, a process known as endoscopic mucosal resection.

Throughout the 1970's, many chemotherapy drugs are tested in combinations of two to four drugs in the hope of improving survival for patients with inoperable stomach cancer. While most combinations have no significant impact, a three-drug regimen called FAM (5-fluorouracil, mitomycin C and Adriamycin, also known as doxorubicin) provides some benefit and is widely used throughout the 1980s. In 1989, doctors find that adding methotrexate to fluorouracil and Adriamycin, a three-drug regimen called FAMTX, further improves survival for some patients.