Clinicopathological features and prognosis of young gastric cancer patients following radical gastrectomy: a propensity score matching analysis

The aim of the this retrospective study was to investigate the clinicopathological features of gastric cancer (GC) in young patients and the potential impact of age on the prognosis of patients undergoing radical gastrectomy for GC. From November 2010 to November 2016, 317 young (≤45 years) and 1344 older patients (>45 years) who underwent radical gastrectomy for stage I-III GC were enrolled. The association between age and prognosis was estimated by univariate and multivariate analyses after propensity score matching (PSM). Compared with older patients, the proportion of females, poorly differentiated tumors, good nutritional status, and who received neo-adjuvant and/or adjuvant chemotherapy was significant higher in younger patients, but were less likely to suffer from comorbidities or post-operative complications (all P < 0.05). PSM analysis created 310 pairs of patients. After matching, the long-term survival in younger patients was significantly longer than in older patients at stage I, but similar at stages II and III. However, a young age was not identified as a significant prognostic factor. In conclusion, the prognosis of young GC patients is comparable with and even better than that in older patients after radical gastrectomy when matched for baseline characteristics. Early detection could improve the prognosis of young GC patients.