The Rising Incidence of Gastric Cardia Cancer

Abstract

Recent estimates of global cancer statistics have ranked stomach cancer behind only lung cancer in the number of new cases and deaths worldwide ( 1 ). Incidence and mortality rates for stomach cancer in the United States and developed countries of Europe have decreased steadily for many years, while the rates still remain considerably higher in many developing countries ( 2 - 5 ). In the face of the overall decline in stomach cancer, a number of investigators around the world have reported rising incidence rates for gastric cardia adenocarcinoma, almost always in conjunction with increases in esophageal adenocarcinoma ( 6 - 15 ). In the United States, based on data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) ¹ program, incidence rates for both gastric cardia and esophageal adenocarcinomas have increased 4%-10% per year among men since 1976, more rapidly than for any other type of cancer ( 6 ). In recent years, the incidence of gastric cardia adenocarcinoma in the United States among white males has nearly equaled the rate for noncardia gastric tumors ( 7 ). In Sweden, the incidence of gastric cardia carcinoma since 1970 has shown a mean annual increase of 2.5% ( 11 ).