Upper gastrointestinal bleeding as a warning sign of gastrointestinal cancer

Abstract

Background: Upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) is a prevalent etiology for hospital admissions on a global scale. However, the significance of UGIB as a warning sign of gastrointestinal (GI) cancer is frequently disregarded due to its uncommon and atypical symptoms. Methods: In the Kailuan study, participants diagnosed with UGIB were assigned as the case group and were randomly matched in a 1:4 ratio with a control group of comparable age and sex from 2006 to 2018 in Tangshan. The statistical analysis included a total of 1250 UGIB patients and 5000 individuals without UGIB. The impact of UGIB on cancer incidence was evaluated using a Cox proportional hazards model, enabling the investigation of both site-specific and time-dependent effects of UGIB on cancer incidence. Results: The mean age of the patients was 60.91 ± 13.08 years. Over an average follow-up period of 8.92 years, there were 102 cases of cancer in the UGIB group and 210 cases in the non-UGIB group. The results of the Cox model analysis indicated that the strength of association between UGIB and cancer depends on specific cancer site. Excluding patients with follow-up periods of less than 1, 3, and 5 years weakened the associations between UGIB and GI cancer in sensitivity analysis. Conclusion: UGIB may serve as a sign of occult cancer, necessitating thorough evaluation of middle-aged and elderly patients presenting with this warning symptom to detect the possibility of missing a cancer diagnosis.

Keywords

• Upper gastrointestinal bleeding
• Occult cancer
• Warning sign
• gastrointestinal (GI) cancer
• Cohort