[Relationship between patient delay and prognosis in gastric cancer in an unselected population (author's transl)]

Whereas the morphology of malignant neoplastia is well known, exact information on the natural history of cancer is lacking. Some hints in this direction can be gained from detailed observations of the course of disease and from correlations between duration of history and prognosis. In the literature, views on the dependence of prognosis on duration of delay are conflicting. This was the reason why we examined this relationship in gastric cancer in the region of Erfurt, GDR, based on the unselected data of the cancer registry. 1838 cases of gastric cancer in male in 1960--1969 could be evaluated concerning prognosis and patient delay. In 2575 cases, relationship between duration of delay and clinical stage as well as mode of treatment could be investigated. From the statistical evaluation it was concluded that a long history is a sign of a less aggressive tumour growth. A short delay seems to be an index of adverse host-tumour relations. Better treatment results can be expected by shortening of patient delay. Possibilities to change the situation are discussed. A more centralized organisation of surgical care is proposed.