Gastric cancer is the fifth most common type of cancer and the third most common cause of cancer related mortality worldwide. Although its incidence and prevalence continue to decrease in most countries, recent large registry-based studies have shown that the incidence rate remains high in some nations and is also increasing in younger cohorts. A prospective case-cohort study in a Chinese population also confirmed the significant role played by Helicobacter pylori infection as the predominant risk factor for gastric carcinogenesis. Prospective and retrospective cohort studies have demonstrated that population level screening and H. pylori eradication therapy significantly reduced the risk of gastric cancer and provided significant economic benefits amongst high risks groups in Taiwan and Japan. Diagnosis remains multi-modal although the potential of novel blood-based genetic panels as an accurate diagnostic marker has been shown in a Korean study involving more than 100 patients. Surgical resection remains the only curative option and an updated network meta-analysis demonstrated no significant differences in the complication rates or oncological outcomes between minimally invasive and open approaches to distal gastrectomy. The recently published CheckMate 649 trial has also highlighted the potential of adjunctive immunotherapy in improving outcomes associated with unresectable gastric cancers, paving the way for future studies to explore the role of similar targeted therapies in wider cohorts.