Ten years survival of patients operated for an incipient gastric cancer Background: Five years survival after surgery for incipient gastric cancer is high. However there is a paucity of information for longer follow up periods. Aim: To analyze long term survival after surgery for incipient gastric cancer. Material and Methods: Review of medical records of patients operated for incipient gastric cancer with an oncologic follow up of 10 years or more. Results: Data from 161 patients, aged 25 to 88 years, 55% males, was retrieved. Eight percent of tumors were multifocal and a mean of 17 lymph nodes per patient, were dissected. There was lymph node involvement in 11 and 3% of submucosal and mucosal lesions, respectively. Ten years survival was 78%. The causes of death were medical in 68%, another cancer in 18% and gastric cancer in 18%. Incipient gastric cancer 10 years specifi c survival was 95%. The fi gures for submucocal and mucosal lesions were 98 and 91% respectively. The fi gures for patients with or without lymph node involvement were 75 and 94% respectively. Conclusions: Ten years mortality due to incipient gastric cancer is exceedingly low and other causes will be the cause of death among these patients.