We analyzed the clinicopathologic features, including treatment and outcome, and the survival rates between young and elderly patients with gastric cancer.

Clinical information was reviewed for 1086 patients who had undergone a gastrectomy for gastric cancer during a 10-year period from 1990 to 1999, and the patients were assigned to one of two groups: the A group (<40 years of age, 91 patients) and the B group (≥ or =70 years of age, 85 patients).

Compared to the B group, the A group had more females (47.3% vs 32.9%), a greater frequency of family history of cancer (15.4% vs 3.5%), and greater proportions of histologically poorly differentiated tumors (84.5% vs 40.2%) and Lauren diffuse-type tumors (69.1% vs 35.1%)(P<0.05). There was no difference in TNM stage. Cardiopulmonary co-morbidities were more in the B group, respectively, 1.1% (A group) and 11.8% (B group)(P<0.01), but the morbidity and the mortality were similar. Although there was no difference in curability, the B group underwent less aggressive operations in lymph-node dissection above D3 and had a shorter operation time, a smaller number of retrieved lymph nodes, and less adjuvant chemotherapy (P<0.001). However, there were no differences in the disease-specific 5-year survival rates, 67.6% and 67.0% respectively.

Young and elderly patients with gastric cancer had different clinicopathological features. Especially, elderly patients underwent relatively less aggressive treatment. In spite of these facts, the outcome of treatment and the disease-specific survival rates were not different.