RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To estimate the incidence, pathological characteristics, treatment patterns, survival and mortality of gastric cancer in Segovia from 2005-2008. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective, descriptive study of 163 patients diagnosed with gastric cancer at the Segovia General Hospital during the study period. RESULTS: We estimated a gastric cancer incidence of 25 cases/100,000 inhabitants. The ratio of men to women was 1.6:1. The mean age was 72 years. The most important findings were diagnosis in stages III and IV (64.5%), the high frequency of intestinal carcinoma (56.4%) and the gastric antrum as the most frequent localization (48.8%). At the end of the study, 54.2% of patients had died and the median overall survival was 19 months. The main factors for an unfavorable prognosis were advanced tumoral stage (III and IV), the number of nodes involved, and diffuse histological type. Despite surgical treatment with curative intent, 63.2% of tumors at early stages (I and II) recurred during the study. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of gastric cancer in Segovia is higher in men aged over 70 years. Most tumors are diagnosed at advanced stages and recurrences are common, limiting the possibility of cure. Early diagnosis of this entity and improved treatments are required.