Clinicopathologic Features, Survival Rates and Prognostic Factors of Gastric Cancer in Young Age Group under 30 Years of Age

Jo, Dong Hyeon; Kim, Soo Jin; Lee, Joo Ho; Yu, Hang Jong; Yang, Han Kwang; Kim, Jin Pok

Abstract

PURPOSE: The purpose of this report is to clarify the clinicopathologic features, survival rates and prognostic factors of gastric cancers in young age group.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
We reviewed 133 patients with gastric cancer under 30 years of age who underwent surgery from January 1986 to December 1995 at the Department of Surgery, Seoul National University Hospital. We have analyzed the sex, age, Borrmann type, histologic differentiation, Lauren classification, depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, location of tumor, size of tumor, curability and extent of operation. The 5 year survival rates and prognostic factors were also evaluated. The Kaplan-Meier method, Log-Rank test and Cox hazards proportional mode were used for the statistical analyses.
RESULTS
The overall 5 year survival rate was 55.3% in all 133 patients in contrast to 67.4% in 108 patients who underwent gastric resections. Significant prognostic factors were Borrmann type, histologic differentiation, depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, location of tumor, size of tumor, curability and extent of operation in univariate analysis. Lymph node metastasis was the only significant independent prognostic factor in multivariate analysis.
CONCLUSION
In our study, the 5 year survival rate in young age group was comparable to that of prevalent age group. This is attributed to the relatively higher incidence of early gastric cancer and more frequent curative resections in this young age group.