Abstract

ADRADA, Juan C et al. The socio-demographic and clinical characteristics in gastric cancer population in the department of Cauca, Colombia. Rev Col Gastroenterol [online]. 2008, vol.23, n.4, pp.309-314. ISSN 0120-9957.

Introduction. Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most lethal types of cancer worldwide. In Colombia, this pathology represents the second cause of death by cancer in men and the third in women. The aim of the present study is to establish the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics in GC population in the department of Cauca. Patients and methods. An observational descriptive study was conducted, including 225 patients with histopathology confirmed diagnosis of GC. After signing an informed consent form, patients were interviewed to obtain socio-demographic and clinical data and later biopsies were taken by endoscopy for histopathological diagnosis. Results. The frequency of GC was predominant in men (66.2%) and in advanced ages (84.4%). 93.8% of the patients referred symptoms since the majority suffered from an advanced neoplasia (92.4%). However, 89.3% of the patients did not have a previous endoscopy. Among the 10.7% to whom endoscopy was performed, lessons predisposing to GC were found including chronic atrophic gastritis, metaplasia and dysplasia. Only 6.2% of the patients were asymptomatic. Conclusion. In the department of Cauca, GC is still diagnosed at advanced stages. The results of this study justified the implementation of early detection programs for this disease.

Keywords : Gastric cancer; epidemiology; age; Colombia.

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