A Retrospective Observational Study of the Epidemiology of Advanced Gastric Cancer in Germany

Abstract

Aim: This retrospective observational study aimed to evaluate the epidemiology of advanced gastric cancer (GC) in Germany. Methods: Data were extracted from the Betriebskrankenkassen (BKK) database, which consists of different company health insurance funds throughout Germany and contains anonymized records of medical services. Patient data were retrospectively reviewed from January 2008 and followed prospectively until 31st of December 2011. The identification of GC patients (ICD-10 C16) was based on data from 2011 (main cohort). Two alternative approaches were used to detect patients with advanced GC who were treated with any first-line chemotherapy. Results: The database included 2?890?285 persons. In total, 3184 patients with a GC diagnosis were identified across all areas of medical care (main cohort). Of these, an estimated 585 patients (or 342, depending on the estimation approach) had advanced GC and received first-line chemotherapy. Age- and gender-adjusted extrapolation resulted in approximately 15?200 (8800) advanced GC patients in the entire German statutory health insurance system in 2011, equating to 22 (13) per 100?000 insured. It was estimated that 4119 (2416) advanced GC patients treated with first-line chemotherapy were newly diagnosed in 2011; an incidence rate of 6 (3) per 100?000 insured. Conclusion: This is the first retrospective observational study that provides plausible epidemiologic data of advanced GC in Germany. It gives a representative estimation of incidence and prevalence of patients with advanced GC who were treated with first-line chemotherapy in 2011 and could be potentially eligible for second-line therapy.

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