title: Pattern of primary gastrointestinal tract cancer in the southern province.
abstract: Two hundred thirty-four cases of primary gastrointestinal tract malignancy were diagnosed at the histopathology laboratory of Asir Central Hospital over a four-year period, from 1987 to 1990. The current study is a retrospective analysis of these cases regarding rank orders, distribution according to nationality, age and sex, primary sites affected and the histopathologic pattern. Eighty-eight percent of our cases were Saudi and 12% were non-Saudi nationals. The mean age of patients was 60 +/- 16 years with a male:female ratio of 2:1. Primary liver cancer was the most common malignancy (29%), followed by gastric cancer (27%), colorectal cancer (21%) and esophageal cancer (13%). Comparison of our findings to those from other provinces of the Kingdom are also included.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Pathology and Surgery, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Abaha, and Asir Central Hospital, Abha, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Morad
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al-Saigh
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Malatani
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hussain