Gastric cancer in Ukraine: epidemiologic data and its nosological structure between 2003 and 2020

Introduction
Gastric cancer is one of the world’s leading causes of death due to oncological diseases. Gastric cancer comprises a diverse group of diseases that includes several oncological units.

Aim
To analyse the nosological structure of epidemiological data related to gastric cancer in Ukraine and compare it with global trends from 2003 to 2020.

Material and methods
The data were retrieved from the National Cancer Registry of Ukraine and analysed using MedCalc for Windows, version 20.218 (MedCalc Software, Ostend, Belgium).

Results
Eight forms of gastric cancer were diagnosed every year. The lowest incidence rate was in 2020, with 8.99 per 100,000 people/year. This was a 33.71% drop compared to 2005 (p < 0.0001). Adenocarcinoma constituted the largest part of the cases over the 2003 to 2020 period: 96.38% (95% CI: 95.02–97.05%). All the other types of gastric cancer together comprised 2.97% (95% CI: 2.34–3.76%) of the cases. The number of adenocarcinoma cases as well as its incidence rate decreased in 2003-2020 in Ukraine. The incidence rate of all types of gastric cancer was seen to decrease over the 2003–2020 timeframe in Ukraine. Adenocarcinoma was the leading form of gastric cancer in the country, and other types were uncommon in both Ukraine and the rest of the world. There was a change in the incidence rates of the other forms of gastric cancer, but those incidences did not notably affect the structure of the epidemiological data.

Conclusions
The total number of cases of gastric cancer, as well as its incidence rate, decreased in Ukraine from 2003 to 2020. This situation corresponds with global tendencies.