Resumo

LUNET, Nuno; CARVALHO, Rui  e  BARROS, Henrique. Gastric cancer research: articles published in national and international journals by portuguese authors . Arq Med [online]. 2005, vol.19, n.4, pp.139-143. ISSN 2183-2447.

Background: Gastric cancer remains one of the most frequent worldwide, though it may become a neglected disease concerning the research efforts due to its lower frequency in the developed countries. Japan is responsible for most of the stomach cancer research all over the world, with an increasing trend in the study of genetic susceptibility and the use of molecular markers. Portugal, like Japan, presents one of the highest incidence and mortality rates in the developed world, and our aim was to characterize articles addressing gastric adenocarcinoma or the respective precancerous lesions published by Portuguese researchers, according to the study subjects and authors’ affiliation. Methods: MEDLINE® and Portuguese Medical Journals Index databases were searched within the period 1992-2003 and the abstracts of the identified articles were reviewed. We obtained the number of citations for articles published in international journals through the Web of Science®. Those not reporting original research and those based exclusively in the study of cell lines or animal experimentation, were excluded. Results: We identified 88 articles in international journals (70% addressed cancer mechanisms/etiology/risk factors) and 53 in national journals (87% reported therapy/clinical and pathological descriptions). Genetic/ molecular topics were the most studied in articles on cancer mechanisms/etiology/risk factors from international journals (n=55, 89%). Most articles (81%) published in international journals come from groups from Porto, and these were also the most cited (median number of citations until 2004 = 15). Conclusion: The study scope is a major determinant for publication of stomach cancer research by Portuguese authors in national or international journals. The high proportion of studies on genetics/molecular biology is in contrast with the scarce number of published works addressing the etiological role of environmental exposures.

Palavras-chave : Stomach neoplasms; publications.

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