Gastric carcinoma in young adults.

Approximately 10% of gastric cancer cases are found in patients younger than 41 years old. Symptoms of gastric carcinoma are not different from those in the elderly, but because of its relatively uncommon presentation in the young age group, the diagnosis may be delayed. Most of the gastric cancer cases are of diffuse type, and are associated with superficial gastritis. No association is found with intestinal metaplasia. Some gastric cancer cases may, however, develop into histologically normal stomachs. Approximately 10% of young gastric cancer patients have positive family history. In practice, the treatment of gastric cancer is not different between age groups. The same kind of survival is also seen between the age groups after operation if the same tumor stages are compared.