Gastric cancer in southern Saudi Arabia

A total of 84 cases of primary gastric cancer were diagnosed in the histopathology laboratory of Asir Central Hospital over a five year period [1987 to 1991]. Seventy-two patients [86%] were Saudis and 12 cases [14%] were non-Saudis. The mean age of the patients included in this study was 60 years with a range of 22 to 85 years and a male:female ratio of 4.6:1. Intestinal adenocarcinoma occurred in 63 patients [75%] followed by malignant lymphomas in 12 cases [14%] and diffuse adenocarcinoma in nine cases [11%]. The gastric antrum was the most common site affected [47%], followed by gastric corpus [27%], cardia [14%], and fundus [12%]. Comparisons of our findings to similar reports from other provinces of Saudi Arabia and other countries are discussed

Helicobacter pylori infection in gastric cancer: a study of 84 cases from Asir region

Gastric cancer can be divided into three histologic types: intestinal and diffuse adenocarcinoma, and malignant lymphoma. To determine whether Helicobacter pylori was associated with either cancer type, we reviewed histologic sections from stomachs of 84 patients with the diagnosis of gastric cancer. Of 63 patients with histologic evidence of intestinal adenocarcinoma, 53 [84%] contained H. pylori in noncancerous tissue compared with six [66.7%] of nine patients with diffuse adenocarcinoma [odds ratio = 2.65; Z=1.048; P>0.05] and with eight [66.7%] of 12 patients with non-Hodgkin malignant lymphoma of the stomach [odds ratio = 2.65; Z=0.826; P>0.05]. Our findings are compared with reported data from other countries and we are not aware of similar reports from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia