Malignancies of upper gastrointestinal tract in Nigerians: early symptoms and prognosis

A total of 237 patients with confirmed malignancies of the upper-gastrointestinal tract (UGIT) were studied. Of these, 143 (60.34%) were gastric cancers, 66 (27.85) were oesophageal malignancies and 28 (11.81%) were in the small intestine. Epigastric pain accompanied by vomiting after meals was the commonest first symptom in patients of gastric cancer whereas dysphagia formed the commonest first symptom in oesophageal cancer. However, no definite first symptom could be attributed to those with small intestinal tumors. As many as 134 patients (56.54%) had advanced malignancies at presentation itself. The usefullness of first symptoms in early diagnosis and prognosis is discussed.