Gastric cancer in young patients

Delayed diagnosis, a high rate of histologically undifferentiated types of tumors, and rapid disease progression are frequently cited as the main reasons for the poor prognosis of gastric cancer in young patients. An improved prognosis has been anticipated for young gastric cancer patients because of recent improvements in digestive tract diagnostic techniques. This retrospective study was designed to determine whether these trends have had an impact on young Japanese patients with gastric cancer, and to further elucidate differences in clinicopathologic features between elderly and young patients.

From 1984 to 1995, 1654 patients with gastric cancer were admitted to our hospital. Of these, 86 patients (5.2%) were less than 40 years of age (young group). The clinicopathologic features of this young group were reviewed retrospectively, using hospital records, and compared with those of older patients (n = 499 [29.4%], 60 to 69 years of age).

The young group contained significantly higher percentages of female patients, epigastric pain symptoms, depressed superficial type lesions, mucosal invasion, and poorly differentiated histology; percentages of hepatic metastasis and venous invasion were lower. Survival rates for all patients and for the resected cases were significantly better in the young group (p = 0.035 and 0.017 respectively). The percentage of early stage stomach cancers for the group less than 40 years of age was 49.0% in 1984-89, but had risen to 60.9% by 1990-95.

Early diagnosis has improved the prognosis of young gastric cancer patients. Furthermore, these data show a recent shift in stage distribution; additional prognostic improvement is anticipated for young patients with early gastric cancer.