Gastric cancer mortality trends in Spain, 1976-2005, differences by autonomous region and sex

Abstract

BackgroundGastric cancer is the second leading cause of oncologic death worldwide. One of the most noteworthy characteristics of this tumor's epidemiology is the marked decline reported in its incidence and mortality in almost every part of the globe in recent decades. This study sought to describe gastric cancer mortality time trends in Spain's regions for both sexes.MethodsMortality data for the period 1976 through 2005 were obtained from the Spanish National Statistics Institute. Cases were identified using the International Classification of Diseases 9th and 10th revision (codes 151 and C16, respectively). Crude and standardized mortality rates were calculated by geographic area, sex, and five-year period. Joinpoint regression analyses were performed to ascertain whether changes in gastric cancer mortality trends had occurred, and to estimate the annual percent change by sex and geographic area.ResultsGastric cancer mortality decreased across the study period, with the downward trend being most pronounced in women and in certain regions situated in the interior and north of mainland Spain. Across the study period, there was an overall decrease of 2.90% per annum among men and 3.65% per annum among women. Generally, regions in which the rate of decline was sharpest were those that had initially registered the highest rates. However, the rate of decline was not constant throughout the study period: joinpoint analysis detected a shift in trend for both sexes in the early 1980s.ConclusionGastric cancer mortality displayed in both sexes a downward trend during the study period, both nationally and regionally. The different trend in rates in the respective geographic areas translated as greater regional homogeneity in gastric cancer mortality by the end of the study period. In contrast, rates in women fell more than did those in men. The increasing differences between the sexes could indicate that some risk factors may be modifying the sex-specific pattern of this tumor.

Tendências da mortalidade por câncer nas capitais dos estados do Brasil, 1980-2004

“…This finding seems to be a result of improvements in basic sanitation and the progressively wider use of refrigeration to preserve foods, avoiding the use of salt and smoke for that purpose. 16 Breast cancer rates presented a general trend toward stability in the study period. An increase in the incidence of the disease could be expected, given the population ageing and perhaps a higher prevalence of associated risk factors; therefore, the stability of rates observed in the present study can be considered as a successful outcome.…”

Sex-specific differences in the association between ABO genotype and gastric cancer risk in a Korean population

“…In addition, a sex-specific association between not only GC and conventional risk factors [13,14], but also between ABO blood group and esophageal carcinoma and cardiac carcinoma, has been reported [15]. To our knowledge, no previous report has evaluated the association between ABO genotype and the risk of GC based on sex; thus, there remains a need to further investigate the interaction between sex and ABO genotype in GC.…”

Trend of Incidence of Gastric Cancer in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran

“…Despite the significant decline in the incidence of gastric cancer in the world, especially European countries such as Spain and Italy, which is as the result of the substantial improvement of living conditions, it is passing an ascending trend in developing countries like Iran. Some of this incidence increase is related to improved cancer registry system [35] in the country, and perhaps some proportion of that is due to changes in risk factors of this cancer such as an increase in H. pylori infection [36][37][38][39][40][41]. Surveying the distribution of sex frequency of these patients in the study period shows that the incidence of this cancer is always higher in men.…”