ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Oncol.
Sec. Gastrointestinal Cancers: Gastric and Esophageal Cancers
Gastric cancer in Abidjan : care strategies and survival in a resource-limited setting
Kouame Konan Yvon Kouassi 1
Bitti Adde Odo 1
Yenahaban Lazare Touré 2
Pétiori Gningayou Laurence, Touré épouse Kamara 1
N’Guessan Manlan Prosper Mébiala 1
Fleur Audrey, Sessegnon 1
Akissi Marie Barbara Yvonne, Nogbou 1
Mohamed Kassir Agnidé, Madiou 1
Ibrahima Alhassane Cissé 1
Moctar Touré 1
Innocent Adoubi 1
1. Félix Houphouët-Boigny University, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
2. Universite Alassane Ouattara, Bouake, Côte d'Ivoire
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Abstract
Background : In Côte d'Ivoire, the management of gastric cancer relies mainly on chemotherapy and surgery. However, the actual impact of these treatments on patient survival remains poorly documented. Objective : To evaluate management strategies and clinical outcomes of patients with gastric cancer in Abidjan. Methods : A 5-year retrospective cohort study was conducted across five hospitals in Abidjan. All patients followed for gastric cancer were included. Clinical, therapeutic, and outcome data were analyzed using SPSS, with a significance threshold set at p < 0.05. Results : Seventy-seven patients were included (mean age: 56.9 years; male-to-female ratio : 2.8). Consultation was often delayed (>3 months after symptom onset). Metastatic disease accounted for 60.7% of cases. Adenocarcinoma was the predominant histological type (98.7%). A multidisciplinary tumor board (MTB) was held in only 37.7% of cases. Initial treatment was surgical (49.4%), palliative/supportive (26%), or chemotherapy-based (23.4%). Median survival was 15 months. Disease stage at diagnosis and consultation delay significantly influenced survival. Conclusion : Gastric cancer is managed in Abidjan, but major gaps remain, particularly the lack of systematic MTB discussion and late diagnosis. Broader access to innovative therapies and the implementation of early detection strategies are urgently needed to improve outcomes.
Summary
Keywords
Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, gastric cancer, Management, Survival
Received
01 November 2025
Accepted
20 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Kouassi, Adde Odo, Touré, Touré épouse Kamara, Mébiala, Sessegnon, Nogbou, Madiou, Cissé, Touré and Adoubi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Kouame Konan Yvon Kouassi; Bitti Adde Odo
Disclaimer
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.