Prevalence and incidence of comorbidities associated with gastric cancer
Background: Understanding the burden of comorbidities in patients with gastric cancer may aid in treatment planning and evaluating the safety of new treatments. Methods: Using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)–Medicare combined dataset, we identified 12,612 patients diagnosed with gastric cancer 2000–2007. A cohort of 12,612 cancer-free individuals was frequency-matched by Medicare enrollment year and county of residence. Subjects were ≥66 years-old at index date to allow for ≥1 full year of Medicare coverage. Prevalence the year before index date and 3- and 12-month incidence rates (per 100 person-years) after index date were estimated for 42 common comorbidities. Results: Comorbidities with the highest (≥8%) 3-month incidence in patients with gastric cancer are shown. Conclusions: Comorbidity prevalence before index date was modestly higher, and incidence rates after index date were much higher in gastric cancer patients than in cancer-free individuals. The poten...