Survival analysis of gastric cancer patients in El Salvador

Abstract

Introduction. Gastric cancer is one of the most prevalent and deadly malignancies worldwide. The survival prognosis depends on clinical presentation, stage at diagnosis, initiation of treatment, and various influencing factors. The objective of this research was to analyze the four-year survival of gastric cancer patients in El Salvador. Methodology. A retrospective dynamic cohort study was conducted with gastric cancer patients from a national hospital. A characterization of the patients included in the study was performed. The overall survival rate at one year and four years was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier estimator, and the Tarone-Ware test was used to assess statistical significance with a p-value < 0.05 and 95% confidence intervals. A Cox regression was performed to evaluate the association between independent and dependent variables. Results. A total of 79 patients were analyzed. The overall one-year survival rate was 46.84 %, and the four-year survival rate was 31.65 %. Chronic kidney disease had a hazard ratio of 4.204, and smoking had a 3.533. In contrast, age had a hazard ratio of 0.98, arterial hypertension had a 0.654, and alcoholism had a 0.367, all with p-values < 0.05. Conclusions. Four-year survival is low. Smoking, cancer stage, adenocarcinoma, and dyslipidemia reduced four-year survival in patients with gastric cancer.