GASTRIC CANCER IN BRAZIL: AN ANALYSIS OF MORTALITY RATES AND THE IMPORTANCE OF THE MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH

Introduction: Gastric tumors have an initially silent clinical picture or nonspecific manifestations, repercuting on a late diagnosis, the main reason for the poor prognosis of this condition. Among the gastric expansive lesions, the adenocarcinoma corresponds to 90% of the cancers that involve the organ, with peak in incidence at 60 years old. Regardless of the histological type, the neoplasm infiltrates the gastric wall and, as it deepens, increases the likelihood of metastasis and reduces the 5-year survival rate. Objective: To delineate the epidemiological profile of deaths by gastric cancer nationwide between 2010 and 2017 to evaluate the importance of multidisciplinary management of cancer patients. Method: This is a cross-sectional, descriptive and retrospective study based on data from the National Cancer Institute (INCA), using the descriptor “câncer de estômago”. The results were discussed through the analysis of articles in the Scielo and Pubmed databases. Results: The gastric cancer was responseble for 111,881 deaths, with the national mortality rate (6.80 per 100,000) being higher than worldwide (6.28/100,000). Despite this, there was a reduction from 7.02 to 6.57 / 100 thousand between the first and last year analyzed. As for the regional distribution of notifications, the Southeast presented the highest number of records (52,491 deaths), followed by the Northeast (25,141), the South (19,305), the North (8,428) and the Midwest (6,516) regions. According to sex, men were involved in 71,886 deaths with a mortality rate of 9.86/100,000, while females comprised 39,989 records and a rate of 4.39/100,000. Finally, there was a predominance of reports from 50 years old, with 98,514 fatal cases (88%). Conclusion: The mortality rate of stomach cancer is highest in developing countries, increasing with age and in males. Factors such as greater population aging, smoking and alcohol consumption explain this predominance, occurring even more in the Southeast region due to dietary habits and environmental factors. In the treatment, a multidisciplinary approach is more effective than a succession of isolated interventions in the management of the patient. In addition to improving the prognosis of the disease, it allows a global look and favors the narrowing of the patient-professional bond.