Treatment of Gastric Cancer in Miyagi Prefecture -Characteristics of Gastric Cancer Detected by Mass-screening and Current Surgical Outcome in Miyagi Cancer Center-

Tsuneaki Fujiya, Satoshi Komatsu, Hideaki Yamanami, Junichi Mikuni, Yoichiro Kakugawa, Yasuhiko Kamiyama, Hidemaro Ono, Tohoru Sugawara, Kiyoaki Ouchi

Department of Surgery, Miyagi Cancer Center

We clarified the characteristics of the treatment of gastric cancer in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, in relation to mass-screening, investigated differences in gastric cancer surgery among 7 main hospitals in Miyagi Prefecture, and investigated the reasons for improved outcome of patients with stage II and III cancer who were treated from 1977 to 1991 compared to those who were treated from 1967 to 1976 in Miyagi Cancer Center (MCC). Although the incidence of gastric cancer has increased annually, the age-adjusted incidence rate has steadily decreased over the past 30 years. These findings resulted from a marked increase in the aged population im Miyagi Prefecture. The rate of detection by mass-screening was the highest in MCC among the 7 main hospitals, and the rate in the 7 hospitals was higher than among patients enrolled in the gastric cancer registry of the Japanese Research Society for Gastric Cancer. A decreased fatality rate as a result of mass-screening and recent progress in treatment of gastric cancer occupied the 71% of decrease of mortality rate in males and 37% in females. The surgical outcome in patients whose cancer was detected by mass-screening was significantly better than that of patients diagnosed by hospital examination, because those operations were performed in the early stage. Adjutant chemotherapy appeared to contribute partly to the improved survival of patients with gastric cancer treated from 1977 to 1991.

Key words
mass-screening of gastric cancer, gastric cancer in Miyagi Prefecture, surgical outcome of gastric cancer

Reprint requests
Tsuneaki Fujiya Department of Surgery, Miyagi Cancer Center
47-1 Nodayama, Medeshima-Shiode, Natori, 981-1239 JAPAN

Accepted
July 22, 1998

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