RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: Gastric cancer (CG) and colorectal cancer (CCR) are the two most common neoplasms of the digestive system in the world. We performed a study to determine incidence and relation between CG and CCR in five hospitals in Mexico City. METHODS: Patients with admitted diagnosis of CG and CCR at Hospital General de Mexico, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Hospital Español de México, Centro Médico Nacional "20 de Noviembre" from the Instituto de Salud y Seguridad Social para Trabajadores del Estado, and Hospital Central Militar from January 1978 to December 2001 were studied. RESULTS: A total of 7,136 patients were studied. (CG 3,830, CCR 3,306). At Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición "Salvador Zubirán" CG was the most common digestive neoplasm; from 1999, ratio was inverted to < 1. At Hospital General de México, from the beginning and until 1984, ratio was > 2, and later had an average of 1.31. For Hospital Español, ratio always was < 1 without changes. At Centro Médico Nacional "20 de Noviembre", initially CCR was more frequent, then CG, and finally CCR. At Hospital Central Militar ratio was constant, > CG. At the beginning, was global behavior > CG, ratio seemed to invert, but since 1998 CG/CCR ratio was < 1 and continued that way. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we found that changes of CG/CCR ratio in a period of 24 years showed elevation of CCR incidence at five Mexican hospitals.
