Management of Gastric Cancer in Thammasat University Hospital

Abstract

Gastric cancer is one of the common solid cancer in Thailand and worldwide. The retrospective study from 2005 to 2011 in Thammasat University Hospital included 66 patients who mostly are male, retired and lived in Pathumtani. The most common presenting symptoms were weight loss (16.7%), vomiting (16.7%) and abdominal pain (15.9%). The most common pertinent physical examinations were cachexia (47.5%) and palpable abdominal mass (30%). 24 patients had the pathological stage 4 (39.3%), 22 patients had poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma (61.1%) and only 36 patients were operable (59%). From this study, most patients presented with advance stage which reflected poor prognosis and poor treatment outcome. In the future, with the effective health information along with screening tool will help diagnose early stage, operable gastric cancer. If this combines with D2 gastrectomy, it can improve the outcome of treatment and quality of life.

Key words: Gastric cancer, Surgical management