GASTRIC CARCINOMA IN BABYLON

Monem Alshok^*

ABSTRACT

Background: We have made a clinical study on gastric carcinoma in order to study the natural course of the disease and what are the measures that can help us for early detection of gastric carcinoma.

The Aims of the study: is to elucidate the course and clinical presentation of gastric carcinoma in our patients and through such a study we have to raise the important points in reducing usual course of advanced presentation of most case of gastric carcinoma in our patients.

Patients & Methods: We conduct a clinical study on 92 cases of gastric carcinoma who were diagnosed endoscopically and confirmed by biopsy and the study was started from the year 2003 to 2008. The progression of the disease were followed up in the groups of patients whom they received medical or surgical treatments.

Results: The Clinical course of 92 cases of gastric carcinoma were studied. The age range from 17-85 years with a mean of 47.05 years and there is male preponderance and 65% of the patients were from areas of low standard of hygiene and low social class and and 26% of the patients were between the age of 41-50 years also the study showed that the incidence of gastric carcinoma is rising in our country. Also 89% of the studied patients were advanced at presentation and were selected mainly for palliative therapy and showing 5 years survival of less than 10%. Those remaining case whom we thought not advanced at the time of diagnosis were proved advance in over 75% on resection and shows higher degree of morbidity and mortality than the cases whom they received CT or palliative therapy alone.

In Conclusion: Overall gastric cancer survival remains poor mainly because there are no reliable methods for identifying highly curable early stage disease. most our cases of gastric carcinoma were advanced at presentation, and we have to improve the staging of the cancer before sending the patients for resection also we have to establish a method for proper early detection of gastric ca by: (screening 'at risk' population,-advanced endoscopic techniques, recognition of subtle endoscopic abnormalities,   careful histopathological examination to identify the depth of invasion).

^* College of Medicine, University of Babylon, Iraq.