Gastro-oesophageal malignancy in New Zealand: 1995-97

To assess the incidence, treatment and survival of patients with oesophago-gastric carcinoma in New Zealand.

All cases of oesophageal or gastric carcinoma diagnosed in 1995-97 were retrieved from the national cancer registry. Linked data describing all episodes of inpatient treatment for these patients were obtained from the New Zealand Health Information System. An analysis of demographics, treatment and survival was performed.

A total of 1791 cases were recorded (616 oesophageal, 1175 gastric). Carcinomas of the gastrooesophageal junction made up the majority of cases. 1138 were male. The median age was 71 years. 78.6% were of European descent, 10.4% Maori, 3.6% Pacific Islanders and 7.4% of other ethnic backgrounds. There were a total of 3403 hospital admissions (median 1.0 per patient). Overall, 29% underwent a surgical resection (15% oesophageal, 36% gastric). Exploratory surgery alone was performed in 14% operated on for oesophageal cancer and 12.3% for gastric neoplasms. Following resection 90 day mortality was 11.8% (10.5% oesophageal, 12% gastric). Overall median survival was 6.3 months (5.8 months oesophageal, 6.6 months gastric) with 16.7% of patients alive at three years. Following resection median survival was 17.8 months ( 16.2 months oesophageal, 18.1 months gastric) with 35.8% of patients alive at three years (34.7% oesophageal, 36% gastric).

These data provide a baseline for future studies of the evaluation and treatment of gastrooesophageal malignancy in New Zealand.