Increased survival rates in gastric cancer, with a narrowing gender gap and widening socioeconomic status gap: A period analysis from 1984 to 2013

Background and Aim Gastric cancer (GC) has the fifth highest incidence rate of all cancers and has a poor prognosis. However, no recent large‐scale and long‐term studies have evaluated the incidence and survival rates of individuals with GC. Methods In order to explore the change of GC incidence and survival rates by age, gender, race, and socioeconomic status (SES), incidence data and survival status of patients with GC between 1984 and 2013 were ed from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database. Totally, 87 242 cases of GC were exported and were analyzed. Results During these three decades, the incidence of GC was 7.4, 6.8, and 5.5 per 100 000 individuals in each decade. The 1‐year relative survival rates (RSRs) improved from 42.4% to 44.3% to 49.0% (P