Relationship between age and clinical characteristics of patients with gastric cancer

The relationship between the prognosis and age of patients with gastric cancer is controversial. To evaluate whether there is a biological characteristic specific to the age of patients, we examined the clinical characteristics of patients with gastric cancer with special reference to their age. Based on a prospective database, a retrospective study of 419 patients who underwent radical gastrectomy for cure in the past 6 years was conducted. Clinical characteristics including gender, gross appearance of the tumour (Borrmann's classification, tumour location), histopathology (depth of tumour invasion, lymph node status, Lauren's classification and degree of tumour cell differentiation) and TNM tumour stage were analysed in six different age groups (< 39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70-79, > 80 years). The mean age of the 419 patients was 64.6 years (range from 26-91) and the peak age incidence of gastric cancer (46.3%) was in the 60-69 year old age group. The male: female ratio was 4.6:1 on the whole and male gender predominated at ages > 60. The proportion of diffuse type tumours (68.4%) by Lauren's criteria in the young age group (< 39 yrs) decreased with age (25% in the > 80 years group; P < 0.001). Similarly, the proportion of poorly-differentiated tumours (89.5%) in the young age group (< 39 yrs) decreased with advancing age (P < 0.001). These findings suggest that both diffuse type and poorly-differentiated tumours predominate in younger patients and, without considering the factor of delay in diagnosis, may explain the poorer prognosis demonstrated in younger patients.