Introduction:

Stomach cancer accounts for the second cause of death related to neoplasms worldwide; it is responsible for 8 % to 10 % of all cancer deaths. In spite of a marked decrease in its incidence, it constitutes one of the main causes of cancer death in Cuba and worldwide.

Objective:

To describe the clinical-epidemiological characteristics of patients with gastric cancer.

Methods:

An observational, descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out with patients with a diagnosis of gastric cancer who attended consultation at Calixto García General University Hospital in the period from January 2014 to December 2018. The universe consisted of 146 patients. The data were obtained from medical records and processed by descriptive statistics.

Results:

Of the patients studied, 67.6 % were male and aged 60-79 years. 51.7 % presented smoking as a risk factor. A total of 124 patients suffered from abdominal pain. 100 % of the complementary examinations performed were endoscopy and biopsy. Moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma was observed in a total of 80 patients. The surgical treatment was performed in 100 %. The most commonly used surgical technique was subtotal gastrectomy.

Conclusions:

The research suggests that, currently, early diagnosis and surgery is the only modality with curative potential, being able to raise the quality of life, as well as to improve morbidity and mortality rates in the population.

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