Clinicopathologic Characteristics and Surgical Outcome of Gastric Cancer in Patients Younger than 36 Years of Age

Abstract

OBJECTIVE This study was designed to determine the clinicopathologic features of young patients who underwent gastrectomy for gastric cancer and to improve the clinical management of this disease.METHODS From 1981 to 2000, among 1,830 gastric cancer patients were admited in our hospital for surgical treatment, 66 of them were < 36 years of age. The clinicopathologic data of these young patients were collected and reviewed.RESULTS The male : female ratio was 1.2 : 1. Most tumors were located in the lower third of the stomach (63.1%). The overall 5-year survival rate of 66 cases was 28.7%. The 5-year survival rates in the patients with early stages and with advanced stages of gastric carcinoma were 77.8% (7/9) and 21.1% (12/57), respectively. Unfavorable prognostic factors associated with poor 5-year survival included the degree of the invasion in the gastric wall ( P < 0.05), and curability of resection (non-curative vs. curative; P < 0.05).CONCLUSION Gastric cancer in young adults tends to be more advanced presentation when diagnosed. However, young patients with early gastric cancer can tolerate radical treatments well. It is important to promptly make a precise diagnosis for gastric carcinoma in young patients and to treat it in early stage.

Keywords

• gastric carcinoma
• clinicopathologic characteristics
• young patients prognosis.