Survival in Nonmetastatic Gastric Cancer Patients

Abstract

Background & Aims: Gastric carcinoma is the second most frequent cancer worldwide. Adjuvant treatment of gastric cancer varies worldwide; many differences have been observed in their clinical and pathological features, and survival rate. The aim of this study was to determine clinical and pathological features, and survival rate in a group of patients in south-east of Iran. Methods: Patient records and pathological reports of 82 consecutive patients, with nonmetastatic gastric cancer referring to the radiation oncology ward of Kerman Shafa Hospital since September 2003 to October 2011, were studied. Survival rate was estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method and differences in survival curves between the variables were determined by logrank test. Results: The mean age of the subjects was 52 years and the male to female ratio was 1.8:1. Surgery with positive microscopic margin was performed in 19 patients (23.2%). The number (%) of the patients with stage I, II, III, and IV were 7 (8.5%), 21 (25.6%), 35 (42.7%), and 19 (23.2%), respectively. The 2 years and 5 years survival rates were 22% and 53%, respectively. Only T, N, overall stage, and type of surgery had impact on the survival rate (P < 0.05), and the other variables had no significant roles. Conclusion: Gastric cancer continues to present in advanced stages, with poor prognosis. The findings of this study emphasize the need for employing policies for the early detection of gastric cancer.