The Endoscopic and Clinicopathological Characteristics of Early-onset Gastric Cancer in Vietnamese Patients

Abstract

Aim: To assess the endoscopic and clinicopathological features of early-onset gastric cancer (EOGC) in Vietnamese,<br />a population with intermediate risk of gastric cancer. Patients and methods: Consecutive patients diagnosed with<br />gastric adenocarcinoma were prospectively recruited. The demographic, clinical data in each patient were collected.<br />The location and macroscopic type of all gastric lesions suspected to be malignant were reported according to the<br />Japanese classification. The histologic tumor type of gastric cancer (GC) was classified according to the Lauren<br />classification. Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection were diagnosed by rapid urease test and urinary H. pylori<br />antibody test. The infection was diagnosed when at least one of the two tests was positive. Results: The rate of EOGC<br />(i.e. ≤ 40 years of age) was 16.3% (23/141). The median age of patients with EOGC was 35 (range 28 – 40) years and<br />the male-to-female was 1:1.09. Compared to the older group (i.e. ≥ 50 years of age), the rates of positive family history,<br />H. pylori infection and alarm features in the EOGC group were not significantly different (0.0% vs. 5.4%, p = 0.581;<br />73.9% vs. 66.3%, p = 0.620; and 60.8% vs. 79.3%, p = 0.100; respectively). The EOGC group had significantly higher<br />rate of tumor extending to entire stomach (21.7% vs. 3.4%, p = 0.003); but the rate of diffuse-type GC between the two<br />groups were not significantly different (87.0% vs. 71.7%, p = 0.181). Conclusions: Vietnamese patients with EOGC had<br />higher rate of tumor extending to entire stomach compared to the older group. But the family history of GC, H. pylori<br />infection and the pathological characteristics were not significantly different between the two groups. Environmental<br />factors which play important roles in the development of EOGC in Vietnam should be investigated in future study.