[Benefit of screening for gastric cancer--a comparison of symptomatic and screened patients who underwent gastrectomy].
We compared the clinicopathological factors and treatment results with regard to symptoms and screening in patients who underwent gastrectomy for primary gastric cancer.


METHODS
The subjects included 797 patients with asymptomatic gastric cancer (SCG) and 1090 patients with symptomatic cancer (SYG) who had undergone gastrectomy for gastric cancer from 1989 to 2000.


RESULTS
The proportion of early gastric cancer, N0 cases, and curative cases in the SCG and SYG patients were 70% & 33%, 77% & 44%, and 98% & 80%, respectively (p = 0.000, for each). Five-year survival rates of the SCG and SYG patients were 87% and 63% (p = 0.000).


CONCLUSIONS
Screening for gastric cancer in order to detect asymptomatic disease may contribute to patient survival.
Kobayashi
Osamu
O
Dept. of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Kanagawa Cancer Center, Yokohama City University.
Sugiyama
Yuka
Y
Konishi
Kazuo
K
Kanari
Masahiro
M
Cho
Haruhiko
H
Tsuburaya
Akira
A
Sairenji
Motonori
M
Motohashi
Hisahiko
H
Yoshikawa
Takaki
T
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D005743:Gastrectomy / Q000401:mortality; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D015996:Survival Rate