Clinicopathological comparison between young and old age patients with gastric adenocarcinoma

There are controversies regarding the differences in the clinicopathological characteristics of gastric cancer between young and older patients. Our aim was to establish clinicopathological differences between both groups.

Records of all Jordanian patients with gastric adenocarcinoma managed at our hospitals between 1991 and 2001 were reviewed. Patients were divided into two groups according to their age; young patients (40 yr of age; n=159). The clinicopathological features and overall survival data for both groups were retrospectively analyzed and compared.

In the young group, in comparison with older group, females were more predominant (p=0.049), family history of gastric cancer was more common (p=0.006), proximal location and involvement of the entire stomach were more (p<0.001), and diffuse cancers (65% vs 13%) and poorly differentiated carcinomas (47% vs 26%) were more prevalent. Advanced tumor stage was the same in both groups (65% vs 64%, ns). There was no significant difference in survival between young and old patients (p=0.287). However, age was significantly associated with survival when treated as a continuous variable even after adjusting for the effects of site and stage of tumor on survival. The probability of death was increased by 5.6% with each yr of age.

Special features of gastric cancer differ significantly between young and older age groups. Greater awareness of early-onset gastric cancer is mandatory for detecting cancer early enough so that it is treated successfully.