Determination of distribution of malignant tumors in van province and its surrounding area according to demographic characteristics

Although it is said that there is a high rate of upper gastrointestinal system tumors in our region (Van province and its surroundings), it is seen that there is not enough data regarding this issue. The purpose of our study is to eliminate this deficiency and to determine how often all types of cancer are seen in our region, how basin varies according to demographic characteristics, distribution and frequency by age, gender, age and location in the population of Van Lake Material and Methods: In this retrospective cross-sectional study, all adult patients (18 years old or older) who applied to the Yüzüncü Yıl University Dursun Odabaş Medical Center between January 2010 and October 2019 and who were diagnosed with cancer were included. The criteria for exclusion in the study are being under the age of 18, not having a definitive diagnosis of pathological malignancy and having a diagnosis of pathological malignancy in another center. Results: 2376 (47.8%) of the 4967 cases were women. The median age for all cases was 58 (18-111). The median age of women was 55 (18-111), while the median age of men was 60 (18-97). The most common malignancy in the entire population was stomach cancer with 917 (18.5%) cases, followed by breast (%10.2), esophagus (%8.8), colorectum (%7.8), head and neck (%7.3) respectively. While malignancy was the most common malignancy among men, 575 (22.2%) patients had gastric cancer, followed by the head-neck (%9.7), lung (%8.7), colorectum (%8), leukemia (%7.3). While malignancy was the most common malignancy among women, 497 (20.9%) patients had breast cancer, followed by stomach (%14.4), esophagus (%11.5), thyroid (%7.8), colorectum (%7.6) respectively. Conclusion: In our study, apart from overall Turkey data, stomach and esofageal cancers are found to have higher incidence in the first place in Van Basin region. Although the etiology of stomach cancer is known, the real reason for the high rate in our region has not been found yet. Further studies are needed. Screening programs should be developed for early detection of gastric and esophageal cancers because they are common in the region.