Changing patterns in gastric adenocarcinoma

Abstract

A retrospective study was performed on gastric cancer patients admitted to the Cancer Institute Hospital, Tokyo, during the periods 1961–65 (n = 1181) and 1980–84 (n = 1473). The aim of the study was to see whether changes had occurred in gastric cancer patients over the years with respect to histology and tumour localization and, if so, how they compared with reports from the West. The proportion of proximally localized primary tumour increased from 17 to 27 per cent (P = 0·008), and signet-ring cell carcinoma increased from 2 to 22 per cent (P 0·05). The discrepancy between the survival rates of Japanese and western gastric cancer patients is attributed by some authors to tumour-related factors. However, we believe that the similar trends found with regard to tumour localization and histology point towards comparable tumour behaviour in the two different geographical areas.