Gastric cancer in young people under 30 years of age: worse prognosis, or delay in diagnosis?

BACKGROUND Gastric cancer is an aggressive disease with nonspecific early symptoms. Its incidence and prognosis in young patients has shown considerable variability. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY Our objective was to retrospectively study patients from our institution aged <30 years with gastric carcinoma. The study was undertaken to describe the experience of gastric cancer in this population, and to demonstrate its specific clinical and pathological characteristics. MATERIALS AND METHODS We reviewed the cases of histologically confirmed gastric cancer between 1985 and 2006 at the Instituto Nacional de Cancerología of Mexico (INCan); emphasis in our review was placed on clinical presentation, diagnostic and therapeutic intervention, pathology, and the results. RESULTS Thirty cases of gastric carcinoma were reviewed. The patients' median age was 27 years (range, 18-30 years) and the male:female ratio was 1:1. CONCLUSION Gastric cancer exhibits different behavior in patients aged, 30 years, but delay in diagnosis and the tumor's behavior appear to be the most important factors in prognosis of the disease.