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Demography and clinicopathological characteristics of primary gastric cancers in Northern India

Introduction: Stomach cancer is the third leading cause of cancer related deaths in either sex. Compared to world statistics, India has a lower incidence and prevalence of this cancer. The diversity in dietary habits accounts for regional variations in incidence of stomach cancers across different parts of India. In this retrospective audit, we have tried to analyze the epidemiology of gastric cancers of northern India which were treated in our institution. Material and Methods: Review of the Hospital Based Cancer Registry (HBCR) of PGIMER, Chandigarh showed that 156 stomach cancer patients (only adenocarcinoma and signet ring cell histopathologies included) were treated from August 2012 to December, 2016. Descriptive statistics were employed for analyzing results. Results: The median age of patients was 52 years with a predilection for male sex. Mostly patients were alcoholics (53.2%) but nonsmokers (59.6%). More than 70% patients ate fruits and vegetables and did not consume processed meat. Anorexia and weight loss was the commonest presenting complaint. The commonest stages observed were stage IIIC (21.1%) and IIB (19.2%). More than 90% patients had adenocarcinoma of which intestinal variant was the commonest. Subtotal gastrectomy with D1 lymph node dissection was practiced more than total gastrectomy and/or D2 dissection. Conclusions: Our patients belonged to a low risk population for gastric cancer mostly due to protective dietary habits. Further reports can give better insight into the epidemiological diversity of this cancer.