Gastric cancer is a common cancer in Asia. Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection is an important risk factor for gastric adenocarcinoma and lymphoma. HP eradication has been shown to decrease the risk of gastric adenocarcinoma. We analyzed the incidence and survival of gastric cancer using data from the Taiwan Cancer Registry, a nation-wide population-based cancer registry, from 1996 to 2013 by histologic subtype. The overall incidence of gastric cancer decreased from 15.97 per 100,000 in 1996 to 11.57 per 100,000 in 2013. The most common histologic subtype of gastric cancer was adenocarcinoma, followed by lymphoma, and sarcoma. The best survival was observed in patients with sarcoma, followed by lymphoma, neuroendocrine tumor and adenocarcinoma. The incidence of adenocarcinoma significantly decreased from 13.56 per 100,000 in 1996 to 9.82 per 100,000 in 2013 (P<0.0001). In contrast, the incidence of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma and diffuse large B cell lymphoma increased. The disparity of the incidence trends in HP-associated adenocarcinoma and lymphoma highlighted the importance of risk factors other than HP for the development of gastric lymphoma.
