Increasing frequency of gastric lymphoma in two national institutes of health in Mexico.
BACKGROUND
Some studies performed in developed countries with caucasian population have suggested an increase in the frequency of primary gastric lymphoma (PGL) in the past two decades.


OBJECTIVE
To establish the frequency of PGL in two National Institutes of Health in Mexico in an interval of 18 years.


METHODS
We reviewed 1,854 gastric malignant neoplasms diagnosed between 1979-1996 in mestizo patients seen at two different institutions. One of them (INC) is an oncological hospital, whereas the other one (INN) is a general hospital which treats patients with benign as well as malignant gastrointestinal diseases.


RESULTS
A hundred and sixty three (8.8%) gastric lymphomas were identified from 1,854 gastric malignant tumors. The incidence of PGL showed a two to three-fold increase in the last years of the study in both institutions. The increased frequency was highly significant when compared to the initial rate. This increase does not appear to be due to patient selection criteria nor to the number of malignant gastric tumors in our institutions.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results indicate an increased frequency of PGL the patient population of two National Institutes of Health in Mexico during the last years. Additional studies are necessary in order to define in the increase in PGL is limited to certain geographical areas or ethnic groups.
Arista-Nasr
J
J
Department of Pathology, Instituto Nacional de la Nutrición Salvador Zubirán.
Herrera-Goepfert
R
R
Loria
A
A
Schneider-Ehrenberg
O
O
Romero-Lagarza
P
P
Caballero-Mendoza
E
E
Santiago-Morales
I
I
D006801:Humans; D008223:Lymphoma / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008800:Mexico; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*