[Surgical experience in 48 cases of early gastric carcinoma]

The authors are reporting their surgical experience of the early gastric carcinoma (EGC). In the last twenty-one years, 48 patients with 54 EGC were operated on: 30 men and 18 women. The proportion of early gastric carcinoma (EGC) among treated gastric carcinoma which was 8% during the first period has risen to 12.5% during the last six years and to 30% during the last year. The average age was 59 years. Symptoms and means of diagnose are analysed. Gastroscopy with multiple biopsies is the most important method of diagnose. The EGC were limited to the mucosa in 27 cases, in another 27 lesions the submucosa was invaded. Most lesions were type II c and III. There were five associations with another cancer. Distal gastric resection (subtotal) was employed in all cases except in one case of total resection. The over all operative mortality rate (30 days) was 6%. The five years survival rate (excluding operative mortality) is 85% (corrected 93%). The ten years survival rate is 75% (corrected 92%).