Presentation and survival of gastric cancer patients at an urban academic safety-net hospital

Abstract

Introduction

Gastric cancer is decreasing nationally but remains pervasive globally. We evaluated our experience with gastric cancer at a safety-net hospital with a substantial immigrant population.

Methods Demographics, pathology, and treatment were analyzed for gastric adenocarcinoma at our institution (2004–2017). Chi-square analyses were performed for dependence of staging on demographics. Survival was evaluated with Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses. Results We identified 249 patients (median age 65 years). Patients were predominantly born outside the USA or Canada (74.3%), non-white (70.7%), and federally insured (71.4%), and presented with late-stage disease (52.2%). Hispanic ethnicity, Central American birthplace, Medicaid insurance, and zip code poverty > 20% were associated with late-stage presentation (all p < 0.05). Univariate analyses showed decreased survival for patients with late-stage disease, highest zip code poverty, and age ≥ 65 (all p < 0.05). On multivariate analysis, survival was negatively associated with late-stage presentation (HR 4.45, p < 0.001), age ≥ 65 (1.80, p = 0.018), and H. pylori infection (2.02, p = 0.036). Conclusion Hispanic ethnicity, Central American birthplace, Medicaid insurance, and increased neighborhood poverty were associated with late-stage presentation of gastric cancer with poor outcomes. Further study of these populations may lead to screening protocols in order to increase earlier detection and improve survival.