Analysis of 242 cases of gastric carcinoma

Abstract

Abstract Clinical and pathological features of 242 patients with gastric cancer seen consecutively at the Department of Surgery (Cirurgia 4) of the Hospital de S. JoÃo in Porto, Portugal from 1970 to 1977 were analyzed. There were 140 men and 102 women and their mean age was 57.7 years. The overall 5‐year survival rate was 16.1%, and that of patients undergoing a curative resection was 42.6%. Duration of symptoms and tumor site did not influence survival rate. The expanding‐type of cancer was more frequent than the infiltrative‐type in a ratio of 2.8 to 1 and gave a significantly higher 3‐year survival rate. This better prognosis of the expanding‐type did not depend on sex, age, duration of symptoms, tumor site, or pattern of nodal metastases, reinforcing the prognostic significance of this classification. The high 5‐year survival rate may reflect the relatively high frequency of gastric carcinoma of the expanding‐type of northern Portugal. A relationship between this high frequency and the recent increase in the mortality rate of gastric cancer in Portugal is suggested .