OBJECTIVETo assess the impact of stomach cancer on the Chinese population by epidemiological analysis of its mortality distribution.

METHODS1990-1992 data on stomach cancer mortality collected by sampling survey involved one tenth of the total Chinese population.

RESULTSThe crude mortality rate of stomach cancer in China was 25.2 per 10(5) (32.8 per 10(5) for males and 17.0 per 10(5) for females), which comprised 23.2% of the total cancer deaths from 1990 to 1992, making stomach cancer the leading cause of cancer death. The stomach cancer mortality rate of males was 1.9 times of that of females. The Chinese mortality rates of stomach cancer adjusted by the world population were 40.8 per 10(5) and 18.6 per 10(5) of males and females, which were 4.2-7.9 (of males) and 3.8-8.0 (of females) times of those in the developed countries. Age-adjusted mortality rates of stomach cancer in China have distinct geographical difference: form the lowest 2.5 per 10(5) to the highest 153.0 per 10(5) in the 263 surveyed localities, 15.3 per 10(5) in urban areas and 24.4 per 10(5) in rural areas giving a difference of 1.9 times.

CONCLUSIONThe prevention and treatment of stomach cancer in China, especially in the countryside and the under-developed areas in the northwest, should be a long-term focus in control of cancers of the digestive system. Urgent measures for prevention and early detection of stomach cancer should be taken.