Prepared by: Ema Ahačič 
Date of last change: April 2023

Purpose and justification of the indicator

Stomach cancer ranks 10th among cancers in Slovenia in terms of the number of newly diagnosed cases. In the period 2012 - 2016, an average of 462 people fell ill with stomach cancer in Slovenia, and 346 people died per year. And although the incidence of stomach cancer has been declining over the past two decades, it is still an important cause of cancer mortality. At the end of 2019, there were 2,129 people living in Slovenia who had been diagnosed with stomach cancer at some point. The disease is almost 2 times more common in men than in women, the largest share of newly diagnosed cases is in the age group of 50-74 years. The incidence rate increases with decreasing level of education in both sexes. The net five-year survival rate for patients with stomach cancer was 31.3% for patients diagnosed in the period 2012-2016. Over the past two decades, survival has improved in both sexes and in all age groups. The low survival is probably related to the fact that the disease was most often detected in the disseminated or disseminated stage. The stage of the disease at diagnosis is important for predicting survival, as the pure five-year survival of patients with a limited form of the disease is about 70%, while the prognosis for the outcome of advanced disease is very poor (five-year survival for the diffuse form is only 3%). Stomach cancer can be treated with surgery, radiation or systemic therapy.
Risk factors for the development of stomach cancer are: older age, male gender, consumption of salty and strongly spiced food, consumption of smoked and salty meat and fish, smoking, excessive body weight, past surgery on the stomach or long-term inflammation of the gastric mucosa, and family burden. Research confirms that the formation of stomach cancer is significantly influenced by infection with the bacterium Helicobacter pylori. Salt, especially in high concentration, can damage the stomach lining, which becomes more vulnerable to Helicobacter pylori infection, which can lead to precancerous changes.
Since we know the risk factors, preventive action is possible, especially the promotion of a healthy lifestyle and the abandonment of harmful vices. The key is to follow the principles of a healthy diet, especially reducing excessive salt intake, e.g. omission of additional salting of prepared food. Sufficient intake of fresh fruit and vegetables is important. Reducing alcohol consumption, quitting smoking or consumption of prohibited substances can reduce the risk of stomach cancer. There is still no screening program for the early detection of stomach cancer in Slovenia or elsewhere in Europe. That is why it is all the more important to carefully monitor the state of your organism and to have regular preventive examinations with your personal doctor.

Definition of indicator

The incidence rate of stomach cancer shows the average annual incidence of stomach cancer per 100,000 inhabitants over the observed ten-year period. An age-standardized rate is calculated, which enables mutual comparison of populations with different age structures.

Unit of measure

Age-standardized rate per 100,000 inhabitants.

Calculation of the indicator

The incidence rate of stomach cancer is the ratio between the number of new cases of stomach cancer in the observed population in one calendar year and the number of inhabitants in the observed population in the middle of the same calendar year, multiplied by 100,000.
The disease category according to the IKB-10 classification, which is included in the calculation, is C16.
New cases of stomach cancer
<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mfrac><mrow><mi>T</mi><mi>h</mi><mi>e</mi><mo>&#160;</mo><mi>n</mi><mi>u</mi><mi>m</mi><mi>b</mi><mi>e</mi><mi>r</mi><mo>&#160;</mo><mi>o</mi><mi>f</mi><mo>&#160;</mo><mi>n</mi><mi>e</mi><mi>w</mi><mo>&#160;</mo><mi>c</mi><mi>a</mi><mi>s</mi><mi>e</mi><mi>s</mi><mo>&#160;</mo><mi>o</mi><mi>f</mi><mo>&#160;</mo><mi>s</mi><mi>t</mi><mi>o</mi><mi>m</mi><mi>a</mi><mi>c</mi><mi>h</mi><mo>&#160;</mo><mi>c</mi><mi>a</mi><mi>n</mi><mi>c</mi><mi>e</mi><mi>r</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>T</mi><mi>h</mi><mi>e</mi><mo>&#160;</mo><mi>n</mi><mi>u</mi><mi>m</mi><mi>b</mi><mi>e</mi><mi>r</mi><mo>&#160;</mo><mi>o</mi><mi>f</mi><mo>&#160;</mo><mi>i</mi><mi>n</mi><mi>h</mi><mi>a</mi><mi>b</mi><mi>i</mi><mi>tan</mi><mi>t</mi><mi>s</mi><mo>&#160;</mo><mi>i</mi><mi>n</mi><mo>&#160;</mo><mi>t</mi><mi>h</mi><mi>e</mi><mo>&#160;</mo><mi>o</mi><mi>b</mi><mi>s</mi><mi>e</mi><mi>r</mi><mi>v</mi><mi>e</mi><mi>d</mi><mo>&#160;</mo><mi>p</mi><mi>o</mi><mi>p</mi><mi>u</mi><mi>l</mi><mi>a</mi><mi>t</mi><mi>i</mi><mi>o</mi><mi>n</mi></mrow></mfrac><mo>&#215;</mo><mn>100</mn><mo>.</mo><mn>000</mn></math>
The direct standardization method is used to calculate the age-standardized rate, where the Slovenian population from 2014 is used as the standard population. The incidence rate of stomach cancer is shown as an average of ten consecutive years.

Data sources for Slovenia

Cancer Registry of the Republic of Slovenia, Institute of Oncology
Population, Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia.

Time availability

Data on the incidence of stomach cancer are published annually.

Men in literature

1. Cancer in Slovenia 2019. Ljubljana: Institute of Oncology Ljubljana, Cancer Epidemiology and Registry, Cancer Registry of the Republic of Slovenia, 2022
2. Zadnik V. et al. [comment authors Aleksandar Aničin ... et al.] Survival of cancer patients diagnosed in Slovenia in 1997-2016. Ljubljana: Oncology Institute, 2020
3. Gabrijelčič Blenku&scaron; M, Kofol-Bric T, Zaletel M, Hočevar-Grom A, Lesnik T. Inequalities in health: the challenge of the future in intersectoral integration (Electronic ed., p. 1 online resource). Ljubljana: National Institute of Public Health; 2021 http://www.dlib.si/details/URN:NBN:SI:doc-B2YT5J9R
4. Ocvirk J. Stomach cancer: what you need to know about the disease - 2nd, revised and supplemented ed. Ljubljana: Institute of Oncology; 2011
5. Institute of Oncology, Gastrointestinal Cancers, Stomach Cancer. Available at: https://www.onko-i.si/za_javnost_in_bolnike/vrste_raka/raki_prebavil#c2428 (Retrieved: February 5, 2023)
6. Hlastan-Ribič C. National action plan for reducing the consumption of salt in the diet of the inhabitants of Slovenia for the period 2010-2020. Ministry of Health, Ljubljana, 2010

Health status

Prepared by: Metka Zaletel 
Date of last modification: September 2016

Residents and community

Prepared by: Mojca Simončič and Metka Zaletel 
Date of last change: January 2018

Prepared by: Mojca Simončič and Metka Zaletel 
Date of last change: September 2016

Prepared by: Mojca Simončič 
Date of last change: March 2017

Prepared by: Gregor Starc 
Date of last modification: September 2016

Health risk factors

Prepared by: Gregor Starc, Kristina Orožen 
Date of last change: September 2016

Prepared by: Tina Lesnik 
Date of last change: March 2021

Prepared by: Andreja Belščak 
Date of last change: September 2016

Prepared by: Mateja Rok Simon and Tina Zupanič 
Date of last change: March 2017

Prepared by: Metka Zaletel 
Date of last modification: March 2019

Prepared by: Victoria Zakrajšek 
Date of last change: March 2021

Prepared by: Martin Ranfl, Jona Bambič 
Date of last change: November 2017

Prepared by: Victoria Zakrajšek, Tatjana Kofol Bric 
Date of last change: March 2019

Prepared by: Jasmina Staroveški Anderlič 
Date of last change: March 2020

Prepared by: Victoria Zakrajšek 
Date of last change: November 2021

Prepared by: Victoria Zakrajšek 
Date of last change: March 2023

Prepared by: Tatjana Kofol Bric 
Date of last modification: September 2016

Preventive

Prepared by: Victoria Zakrajšek and Sonja Tomšič 
Date of last change: March 2017

Prepared by: Bonia Miljavac 
Date of last change: March 2017

Prepared by: Sonja Tomšič 
Date of last change: November 2019

Prepared by: Sonja Tomšič 
Date of last change: March 2021

Prepared by: Victoria Zakrajšek 
Date of last change: March 2017

Prepared by: Aleš Korošec 
Date of last change: September 2016

Prepared by: Aleš Korošec
Date of last change: September 2016

Prepared by: Tatjana Kofol Bric 
Date of last change: March 2019

Prepared by: Aleš Korošec and Sonja Tomšič 
Date of last change: September 2016

Prepared by: Mojca Simončič and Metka Zaletel 
Date of last change: October 2019

Prepared by: Kristina Orožen 
Date of last change: March 2019

Prepared by: Tatjana Kofol Bric, Jona Bambič 
Date of last change: March 2018

Prepared by: Victoria Zakrajšek, Tatjana Kofol Bric 
Date of last change: February 2020

Prepared by: Ema Ahačič 
Date of last change: March 2023

Mortality

Prepared by: Sonja Tomšič, Tatjana Kofol Bric 
Date of last change: March 2019

Prepared by: Sonja Tomšič 
Date of last change: March 2019

Prepared by: Tina Lesnik 
Date of last change: March 2019

Prepared by: Tina Lesnik 
Date of last change: March 2020