Epidemiology of Noncardia Gastric Adenocarcinoma in the U.S.

Gastric cancer is a common cause of mortality worldwide but is less common in the U.S. Epidemiologic studies have been confounded by the standard inclusion of both cardia and noncardia cancers, which are biologically distinct. To provide recent estimates of incidence, hospitalization, and mortality associated with noncardia gastric cancer in the U.S., investigators analyzed three national surveillance databases.

During 2000 to 2007, 18,873 cases of noncardia gastric cancer occurred annually, for an age-adjusted rate of 8.2 cases per 100,000 U.S. population. During 1997 to 2008, the number of annual hospitalizations with noncardia gastric cancer as the principal diagnosis was 17,284. During the same period, 11,562 deaths occurred annually, fo…