Abstract :
Background
Carcinoma of the stomach continues of cause a significant mortality in the United States. We reviewed the characteristics, treatment modalities, and survival of a group of patients with this cancer at a tertiary care referral hospital.
Materials and methods
A retrospective computer based review of all patients with a diagnosis of carcinoma of the stomach in the Ohio State University (OSU) tumor registry was made. One hundred ninety-two analytical cases were found and the data was entered into a computerized database and analyzed.
Results
The overall median survival in this series of patients is 10 months with a median survival of 16 months (n.s.) in patients who underwent curative surgery (50% of the patients). There was an increased number of cardia lesion (37%) predominately in male patients (P< 0.05). A significantly greater number of female patients presented with linitis plastica and male patients with adenocarcinoma, although there was no difference in the operability, types of operations, and survival between the genders. Patients with signet ring cell cancer were significantly younger than the other two histological types reviewed but this did not alter outcome.
Conclusion
Carcinoma of the stomach, despite newer image modalities, continues to present at advanced stages at time of diagnosis with an overall dismal prognosis. The increased incidence of cardia lesions noted require innovative therapies if any progress is to be made.
