Two hundred and eight patients underwent oesophago-gastro-duodenoscopy within the first year of its introduction at a peripheral general hospital in Malaysia. There were 7 cases of gastric cancer, proved histologically, as compared to 38 cases of benign gastric ulcer. The frequencies of the common symptoms and signs in the two conditions are compared. Of the 3 main ethnic groups, Malays, Chinese and Indians, the incidence of gastric ulcer was highest among the Chinese, next the Indians; however, the number of gastric cancers were too few for analysis of its racial incidence.
Marked epidemiological changes in upper gastrointestinal diseases and Helicobacter pylori infection have taken place in the Asian Pacific region. In particular, differences with respect to race in the multiracial Asian population in Malaysia have been important and interesting.