Clinical profile of gastric cancer in Khuzestan, southwest of Iran.

AIM: To analyze the characteristics of epidemiological, clinical and survival patterns among patients with carcinoma of the stomach. METHODS: We retrospectively studied the characteristics of 186 gastric adenocarcinoma patients at Ahwaz Jundishapur University Hospitals (AJSUH) from September 1, 1996 to September 1, 2002. All the patients had histopathologically-confirmed malignancy. Demographic variables, family history of gastric cancer (GC), clinicopathologic characteristics and treatment-related variables were analyzed. Univariate analysis was performed with the log-rank test and multivariate analysis with Cox regression. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Male to female ratio was 2.6:1. The mean age was 60.6 years and 14% of the patients were younger than 40 years. Adenocarcinoma, gastric lymphoma, and gastric metastasis were found in 94.5%, 2.3%, and 3% patients, respectively. There was an average of 6-mo delay between the initial symptoms and the diagnosis. Among adenocarcinoma groups, intestinal type was the commonest (55.9%) and the distal third was the most common localization (88.4%). One hundred and thirty-four patients (72.1%) were males. Thirty-one patients (17%) had a family history of GC. Surgery was performed in 90% of patients (non-curative). CONCLUSION: The epidemiological features of GC in south Iran mimic those in high-risk areas. There is a higher frequency of GC in young patients at our institution. Patients are detected and treated after a relatively long delay. Most patients present in advanced stages, which favors a poor overall survival. Family history of GC has a significant problem in our area. Studying the etiology of this cancer in south Iran and earlier diagnosis and subsequent better cares are recommended.