Gastric Cancer in Brunei Darussalam: Epidemiological Trend Over a 27 Year Period (1986-2012)

Abstract

Background: Gastric cancer is the second most common gastrointestinal cancer and is more common in the East, compared to the West. This study assesses the trend of gastric cancers in Brunei Darussalam, a developing nation with a predominantly Malay population. Materials and Methods: The cancer registry from 1986 to 2012 maintained by the Department of Pathology, the only State Laboratory at the RIPAS Hospital, Ministry of Health, was reviewed and data extracted for analyses. The age standardised rate (ASR) and age specific incidence rate were calculated based on the projected population. Cancers diagnosed below 45 years were categorised as young gastric cancer. Results: Over the study period, there were a total of 551 cases of gastric cancer diagnosed. The most common type was adenocarcinoma (87.9%), followed by lymphoma (6.1%) and gastrointestinal stromal tumour (2.8%). The overall mean age at diagnosis was 61.9 years old (range 15 to 98) with an increasing trend observed, but this was not significant (ANOVA). There were differences in the mean age at diagnosis for the different races (p=0.003 for trend), but not the gender (p=0.105). Young gastric cancer accounted for 14.9%, being more common in women, and in Expatriate and Malay populations compared to the Chinese. There was a decrease in the ASR, from 17.3/100,000 in 1986-1990 to 12.5/100,000 in 2006-2010. Chinese had a higher overall ASR (20.2/100,000) compared to the Malays (11.8/100,000). The age specific rates were comparable between men and women until the age group 55-59 years when the rates started to diverge, becoming higher in men. Chinese men had higher rates then Malay men whereas, the rates were higher or comparable between the women until the age group >70 when the rate for Chinese women overtook their Malay counterpart. Conclusions: Our study showed that there is a declining trend in the incidence of gastric cancer and higher rates were observed in men and Chinese.

Retracted: Sinomenine exerts antitumour effect in gastric cancer cells via enhancement of miR‐204 expression

“…So far, the known risk factors of GC are basically associated with living environment, dietary habits, genetic and chronic gastric diseases 3,4. Most patients with early GC are often asymptomatic, and a few patients may present nausea, vomiting or upper gastrointestinal symptoms similar to ulcers, which is difficult to attract enough attention 5. With the growth of tumours, more obvious symptoms occur when gastric function is affected.…”

Profiles of Epstein-Barr Virus Associated Gastric Carcinomas in Brunei Darussalam

“…However, the role of EBV in epithelial carcinogenesis is complex and multi-factorial and not fully elucidated (Tsao et al, 2014). Similar to what have been shown in the literature, gastric cancer is also the second most common gastrointestinal cancer in Brunei Darussalam (Mohammad et al, 2014), and although it is declining (Chong et al, 2014), it remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. Similarly, H. pylori infection is the most common cause due to the high prevalence (Chong et al, 2009 …”

Self- Reported Personal and Family History of Cancers in Brunei Darussalam: Result of an Integrated Health Survey

“…Certain ethnicities or races are well known to be at higher risk of cancers and this also the case in our country (IARC, GLOBOCAN, 2012;Mohammad et al, 2014). In our local contacts, Chinese have higher incidence of colorectal and gastric cancers (Chong et al, 2009;Chong et al, 2014). Association of higher incidence of self-reported history of cancers and being professionals (Division I/II-being professionals) may be due to better awareness and standard of living.…”