Spectrum of gastro-intestinal cancers--a ten-year study.

Pattern of gastro-intestinal malignancies differ in different geographical areas and depends upon the genetic, cultural, dietary and socioeconomic factors. Therefore studying pattern of gastro-intestinal cancers help to identify high risk groups, recommend preventive measures or advise appropriate screening in high risk population. The present study was undertaken to determine the pattern of gastrointestinal malignancies at Kolar, situated in south-eastern part of Karnataka. A ten-year retrospective study from January 1997 to December 2006 was done at the department of pathology at Sri Devaraj Urs Medical College, Kolar, Karnataka. All the gastro-intestinal malignancies diagnosed were retrieved from pathology department records and socio-epidemiological data regarding each case was collected from hospital record section. The cases were analysed for site of involvement, age distribution, histological types and yearwise distribution by descriptive analysis. Gastro-intestinal malignancies constituted 22.96% of all the malignancies diagnosed. Males were more frequently affected than females, M:F ratio was 1:0.6. Peak incidence was in 7th decade. Stomach was the commonest site (48.4%) followed by oesophagus (27.7%), rectum (6.5%), colon (5.0%) and primary liver cancer (4.76%). Majority of histological type was adenocarcinoma. Yearwise distribution showed gradual increase in incidence of cancer. In the present study gastro-oesophageal malignancies was the most common gastro-intestinal malignancy in this part of Karnataka which in turn reflects on potential lifestyle and environmental factors.