Trends in incidence, management, and survival of gastric and cardia carcinomas in the area of Finistere (France) between 1984 and 2003.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate trends in incidence and prognosis of gastric and cardia carcinomas in the area of Finistère (France) between 1984 and 2003. METHODS: The Digestive Tumor Registry of Finistère recorded all new cases of gastric and cardia carcinomas from January 1, 1984 to December 31, 2003. Raw incidence data were standardized using the direct method based on the reference world population. The data and survival rates were studied in univariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: Between 1984-1988 and 1999-2003 the standardized incidence of distal gastric carcinomas decreased (10.74 ± 0.39-5.68 ± 0.27/year/100 000 inhabitants, P < 0.001). There was no significant increase in the incidence of cardia carcinomas (0.83 ± 0.11-1.25 ± 0.14/year/100 000 inhabitants). The frequency of macroscopically infiltrating tumors doubled (P < 0.001) and linitis plastica increased from 9 to 16.2% (P < 0.001). Overall survival rates increased only for patients with metastatic carcinomas of both locations (P < 0.001) and with advanced tumors of distal stomach (P < 0.001) receiving therapy. CONCLUSION: This study showed a significant decrease over time in the incidence of distal gastric carcinomas but no significant increase in the incidence of cardia carcinomas. Despite improvement in the management of patients, prognosis remains dismal, probably because of an increased incidence of poor prognosis of histological and anatomical types.

Prevalence and topography of intestinal metaplasia in columnar lined esophagus.

OBJECTIVES: Barrett's mucosa is considered as a mosaic of three epithelial types but little is known about the topography of intestinal metaplasia in columnar lined esophagus. The aims of the study were to determine the prevalence of intestinal metaplasia within long and short segments of columnar lined esophagus and to analyze the distribution of the intestinal metaplasia within long segments of Barrett's esophagus. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study was performed on the initial endoscopy carried out among 112 patients enrolled in an endoscopic surveillance program. Seventy-two patients with columnar mucosa extending more than 3 cm into the esophagus (group I) and 40 patients with a short segment of columnar mucosa (group II) had multiple biopsies according to a standardized protocol. 1163 biopsies were analyzed on the whole: 949 biopsies in group I and 214 biopsies in group II. RESULTS: Intestinal metaplasia was identified among 650 (68.5%) and 50 (23.4%) biopsies in groups I and II respectively (P<10-7). The proportion of biopsies with foci of intestinal metaplasia increased significantly with the length of the columnar mucosa. The diagnosis of Barrett's esophagus was confirmed in 100% of the patients in group I and in 45% of the patients in group II. In long segments of Barrett's esophagus, intestinal metaplasia was more frequently observed in the 2 upper thirds of the columnar mucosa that in the lower third (P<10-7). Detailed mapping of the distribution of epithelial types within the columnar lined esophagus identified three patterns of distribution of intestinal metaplasia within long segments of Barrett's esophagus: unifocal, multifocal and diffuse, in 5%, 56% and 39% of the patients respectively. Dysplasia was present in 15% of patients with long segments of Barrett's esophagus and 11% of patients with short segments (NS). CONCLUSION: The distribution of intestinal metaplasia within columnar lined esophagus is heterogeneous and three distinct patterns can be identified: unifocal, multifocal and diffuse. Considering the risk of sampling error, the current recommendations concerning the biopsy protocols are mandatory until the validation of new techniques such as chromoendoscopy or magnifying endoscopy.

Epidemiology of hepatocellular carcinoma in Finistère. Prospective study from June 2002 to May 2003.

OBJECTIVES: The aims of this prospective study were to evaluate the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Finistère, an administrative district of western France, and to highlight epidemiological characteristics. METHODS: From June 1st 2002 to May 31st 2003, all cases of HCC in Finistère were registered prospectively. Standardized incidence rates were calculated. RESULTS: One hundred and six cases of HCC were registered. Standardized incidence rates were 13.8/100000 among men and 0.8/100000 among women. Among the incident cases of HCC, 52% were discovered in patients consulting for symptoms, and 28% in patients undergoing screening. The new non-invasive diagnostic criteria of HCC were used in 60% of cases. HCC was associated with cirrhosis in 89 patients (84%). Excessive alcohol intake was the main cause of cirrhosis. In all, 27 patients (25.5%) received potentially curative treatment. CONCLUSION: Incidence of HCC is high in Finistère. The proportion of patients given potentially curative treatment is still low, illustrating how difficult screening can be when alcoholic cirrhosis predominates in the target population.

Epidemiology and long term survival of gastric carcinoma in the French district of Finistere between 1984 and 1995.

OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study were to evaluate trends in incidence, clinical characteristics, treatment regimen and prognosis of gastric carcinoma in the area of Finistere (France) during a 12-year period. METHODS: Between 1984 and 1995, the Finistere Registry of GastroIntestinal Tract Tumors listed 2 139 patients with gastric carcinoma in a population of 838 627 inhabitants. Curative resection and operative mortality were analyzed by logistic regression. Prognostic factors were determined using the Kaplan-Meier method and the Cox model. RESULTS: When comparing the second period (1990-1995) to the first period (1984-1989) we observed: a) a decrease of standardized incidence (13.2 vs. 15.6/100 000 inhabitants/year in males and 5.4 vs. 7.0/100 000 inhabitants/year in females); b) a significant increase of linitis plastica (21.4% vs. 10.9%) and infiltrative tumors (53.1 vs. 31.2%) (P<0.0001); c) no variation in tumor stage at diagnosis; d) a significant increase in curative resection (65.7% vs. 45.0%; P<0.0001); e) no variation in operative mortality; f) the absence of improvement of survival rate; the latter was 29% at 2 years, 19% at 5 years and 11% at 10 years during the second period. Multivariate analysis showed that the main prognostic factors of gastric carcinoma were age, tumor stage and the type of surgical procedure. CONCLUSION: This study showed a decrease in the incidence of gastric carcinoma over time and an increase of linitis plasticia and infiltrative forms. Despite improvement in management of patients, the global prognosis of gastric carcinoma did not improve significantly over a 12-year period of observation.