Nivel de conocimiento sobre prevención del cáncer gástrico en estudiantes de noveno y décimo ciclo de la carrera de Medicina de la Universidad de Cuenca, periodo septiembre 2022 – febrero 2023

Abstract

Background: According to the World Health Organization, cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide, gastric cancer ranks fourth among the most incident cancers and the third with the highest mortality. According to the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses, mortality from this pathology represented 3% of all deaths in 2019. General objective: Determine the level of knowledge about gastric cancer prevention in ninth and tenth cycle students of Medicine career at the University of Cuenca. Methodology: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out. The sample consisted of 189 students in the ninth and tenth cycle of the Medicine career. A survey was applied. The data was processed in a database developed in SPSS version 20, and analyzed using frequency and percentage tables. Results: The predominant age was 23-25 years; 60.8% of the sample was made up of women. The high level of knowledge for genetic factors was 67.7%; biological factors 50.8%; environmental factors of 62.4%; and early detection of 45%. Conclusions: The level of knowledge in the 3 areas: genetic, biological, environmental factors, was acceptable. 45% of participants had high levels of knowledge in prevention, it is expected that students improve in this area to be able to apply it in their practical year.