Background: In Nepal, gastric cancer was the second most common cause of cancer deaths in males and the fifth most common cause of cancer deaths in females in 2020. Although gastric cancer is a significant public health problem, there have been no studies undertaken in Nepal to determine the survival and predictors of gastric cancer survival.
Methods: A retrospective cohort study of gastric cancer patients at Bhaktapur Cancer Hospital in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. Data were analysed from 817 new gastric cancer cases, diagnosed between January 2010 and December 2021. Survival rate was analyzed using Kaplan-Meyer methods, and predictors of gastric cancer survival were analyzed using Cox Regression methods.
Results: The median overall survival for gastric cancer patients was 19 months since diagnosis. The five-year survival rate was 12%. The predictors for survival were younger age, tumors located in the non-cardia, early stage, treatment by surgery, and treatment by chemotherapy. However, sex, histologic type, tumor grade, tumor subtype, and extent of cancer were not associated with survival.
Conclusion: In Nepal, the overall survival of patients with gastric cancer was 12%, which is much lower than in high-income countries. Predictors of survival were patient age at diagnosis, the stage at diagnosis, the location of the tumor, and the treatment undertaken, both in Nepal and in high-income countries.
Keywords: cancer; mortality; stomach.