Gastric carcinoma in the Kenyan African population.

Fifty three consecutive patients with histological evidence of gastric carcinoma were studied between June 1987 and June 1989 at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH). The male to female ration was 3.4:1 and the peak age of occurrence was in the 7th decade with 62.3% of gastric carcinoma being at the gastric antrum. Poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma was found in 68.2% of patients while well differentiated adenocarcinoma in 4.5% of cases. Intestinal metaplasia was a rare finding. If Lauren's classification of gastric carcinoma is considered then diffuse type of gastric cancer is by far the commoner type in our environment.