Clinicpathological Features of Gastric Cancer in Young Patients

Abstract

The incidence of gastric cancer (GC) in young patients has showed a stable or even slightly increasing trend in recent years all over the world. Little is known about the clinicpathological features of young patients with GC in Ningxia region, located in the northwest part of China. To define the clinicpathological features of GC in young patients in this region, 117 patients with GC, who were admitted to the Department of Medical Oncology, General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Ningxia, China, were enrolled in a retrospective database between 2000 and 2005. The data from 55 patients aged less than 35 years old were compared with those from 62 controls aged between 36 and 70. It was found that in young group, the percentages of females, the tumors in the lower third of the stomach, tumor size larger than 4 cm, macroscopic type Borrmann III tumors, poorly differentiated histology, the 7 th T stage T3 + T4, the distribution of tumor-nodes-metastasis(TNM)stage IV, surgical exploratory laparoscopy, and anemia symptoms were significantly higher than those in the control group ( P < 0.05). The 5-year survival in the young group was lower than that in the control group (21.8% vs. 48.4%, P < 0.05). It was obvious that the clinicpathological features of GC in young patients were different from those in the control group. Focusing on early diagnostic rate and choosing a suitable operative treatment should be critical to improve prognosis of young patients with GC in Ningxia region of China.