Pattern of Upper Gastaro Intestinal Malignancies in Northern Punjab

Objective: To record the number of cases of carcinoma of stomach, geographical location and histological diagnosis presenting to a hospital in northern Punjab Methodology: This study was conducted at the department of medicine (GI unit) Fauji Foundation Hospital Rawalpindi. All the patients who underwent upper GI endoscopy and were found to have an upper GI malignancy on histopathology were reviewed for part of the gut involved. Patient demographics including age, sex, and place of residence, clinical presentation, and subsequent histologic diagnosis were recorded. Results: During the study period, 302 cases of upper GI malignancy were seen at our institution, 83 (14.8%) were in patients 40 years of age or younger. Mean patient age was 58 years. The lesion was distal in 43%, proximal in 20% and 7% involved the entire stomach. In 9.8% of the cases, lesser curve was the site. The tumor was located in the upper third, middle third and lower third in 33, 22 and 34.6% respectively. The common presenting symptom in case of carcinoma of stomach was pain epigastrium. Dysphagia was the major subjective complaint in cases of esophageal carcinoma. Conclusion: The common malignant tumor in males was carcinoma of stomach and in females carcinoma of esophagus. Endoscopic screening in subjects suspected of upper gastrointestinal malignancy results in a significant yield of carcinoma. The gastric tumor in distal location (non cardia cancer) is still more common. Asian race is no different from other races as far as the ca stomach is concerned.