Background/aims: Whether gastric cancer in young patients differs in any way from gastric cancer in older patients has been a controversial issue. This study was designed to determine the clinicopathological features of gastric cancer in young patients.
Material and methods: The clinicopathological features of 86 young patients with gastric cancer, defined as 39 years of age or younger, were reviewed retrospectively from hospital records between 1969 and 1993. They were then compared with 1134 middle-aged patients with gastric cancer between 40 and 69 years old.
Results: The incidence of gastric cancer in young patients declined from 6.34% of all gastric cancer patients 20 years ago to 4.49% in the most recent decade. The histopathological findings for gastric cancer in young patients were aggressive features, including an undifferentiated type, a scirrhous type, and an infiltrating type (defined as infiltrating growth and an indistinct border from the surrounding tissues). There were no statistical differences in tumor staging and survival between the 2 groups.
Conclusion: Gastric cancer in young patients decreased in overall incidence, but possesses aggressive histopathological features different from older patients. Furthermore, the tumor staging and prognosis for young patients was similar to middle-aged patients.