A prospective study of gastric and oesophageal carcinoma.

A prospective study of carcinoma of the stomach and oesophagus has been carried out for 2 1/2 years. Seventy-three cases of carcinoma of the stomach, and 16 cases of carcinoma of the oesophagus have been documented. For carcinoma of the stomach, operability rate was 72-6% and resectability rate was 41-9%; overall survival was poor, 20-9% at 12 months. For those who underwent resection, survival at 12 months was 45-5%. No cases of early gastric cancer are among those studied. For carcinoma of the oesophagus, four patients had a resection, and only one has survived for more than 12 months. In the clinical sphere there is a need for early endoscopic as well as radiological investigation of dyspeptic symptoms. In the research field there is a need for studies of chemotherapy in combination with surgery in the initial treatment of gastric carcinoma.