GASTRIC-CANCER - A CLINICOPATHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF 54 CASES SEEN AT ASIR-CENTRAL-HOSPITAL, ABHA, SAUDI-ARABIA

Objective: To study the clinicopathological patterns and outcome of tr eatment of gastric cancer as seen at Asir Central Hospital and compare them with other studies in other regions. Design: Retrospective analy sis of patients' data, as collected from their files, over a 4-year pe riod ( June 1989-June 1993). Setting: Asir Central Hospital, Abha, Sau di Arabia. Subjects: Patients with gastric malignancy. Results: Fifty- four patients were considered for this study. The male:female ratio wa s 2.2:1, and the age range was 25-85 years (mean = 63 years). The most common symptoms were epigastric pain (81%), weight loss (70%) and vom iting (61%); while epigastric tenderness (50%) was the most common sig n. Tumours were located in the antrum in 41% and in the fundocardiac r egion in 30% of cases. Adenocarcinoma constituted 80% of malignancies, of which, the intestinal type was the commonest lesion (93%). Ninety- eight per cent of patients had advanced disease and, therefore, had pa lliative treatment. Twenty-eight (51.9%) patients had subtotal gastrec tomy, 20 (37%) had total gastrectomy, three (6%) had laparotomy and by pass procedures and three (6%) had only laparotomy and biopsy. The hos pital mortality was 15% i.e. eight patients; four (20%) had total gast rectomy, one (3.6%) had subtotal gastrectomy, and the remaining three died after laparotomy and bypass or biopsy operations. Conclusion: The clinicopathological pattern of gastric cancer in our patients is not significantly different from that of other regions of the Kingdom. Jud ging from the intra-hospital mortality rate, it seems that subtotal ga strectomy would be the preferred therapeutic option unless the whole s tomach is involved with the tumour.