Breast Cancer in Young Women from a Low Risk Population in Nepal

Background: The overall incidence of breast cancer in South Asian countries, including Nepal, is low comparedto Western countries. However, the incidence of breast cancer among young women is relatively high. Breastcancer in such cases is characterized by a relatively unfavorable prognosis and unusual pathological features.The aim of this study was to investigate clinico-pathological and biological characteristics in younger breastcancer patients (<40 years) and compare these with their older counterparts. Materials and Methods: Ninehundred and forty four consecutive female breast cancer patients, admitted to the Department of Surgery,Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal between November 1997 and October 2012, wereretrospectively analyzed. Results: Out of the 944 female breast cancer patients, 263 (27.9%) were <40 years. Themean age was 34.6±5.0 years among younger patients compared to 54.1±9.9 for those ≥40 years. The mean age atmenarche was also significantly lower (13.5±1.5 vs 14.2±1.5 years p=0.001) while the mean duration of symptomswas significantly longer (7.6 vs 6.5 months p=0.004). Family history of breast cancer was evident in 3.0% of theyoung women versus 0.3% in the older one. Mammography was performed less frequently in younger patients(59.7%), compared to older (74.4%), and was of diagnostic benefit in only 20% of younger patients compared to85% of older ones. At diagnosis, the mean tumor diameter was significantly larger in young women (5.0±2.5 vs4.5±2.4cm, p=0.005). Axillary lymph nodes were positive in 73% of younger patients and 59% of older patients.In the younger group, the proportion of stage III or IV disease was higher (55.1% vs 47.1%, p≤0.05). Theproportion of breast conserving surgery was higher in young patients (25.1% vs 8.7%) and a higher proportionof younger patients receive neoadjuvant chemotherapy (9.9% vs 2.8%). The most common histological type wasductal carcinoma (93.1% vs 86%). The proportion of histological grade II or III was higher in younger patients(55.9% vs 24.5%). Similarly, in the younger group, lymphatic and vascular invasion was more common (63.2%vs 34.3% and 39.8% vs 25.4%, respectively). Patients in the younger age group exhibited lower estrogen and/or progesterone receptor positivity (34.7% vs 49.8%). Although statistically not significant, the proportion oftriple negative tumors in younger age group was higher (22.4% vs 13.6%). Conclusions: Breast cancer in youngNepalese women represents over one quarter of all female breast cancers, many being diagnosed at an advancedstage. Tumors in young women exhibit more aggressive biological features. Hence, breast cancer in young womenis worth special attention for earlier detection.     

Clinicopathologic and genetic characteristics of gastric cancer in young male and female patients

The pathways of gastric cancer in young patients (40 years of age or younger) have not yet been determined. We therefore examined clinicopathologically and genetically 68 gastric cancers in young patients and 66 tumors in older patients (41 years of age or older). Mutations in B-raf and K-ras were identified by PCR-SSCP following sequencing. Microsatellite instability (MSI) and hMLH3 mutations were also examined. Histopathologically, diffuse-type gastric cancer and cancer in the whole of the stomach were found significantly more often in young patients than in older patients (21% vs. 2%, P = 0.0006, and 77% vs. 32%, P < 0.0001, respectively). Genetically, MSI and hMLH3 mutations were found significantly more often in tumors in young patients than in tumors in older patients (15% vs. 4%, P = 0.040, and 9% vs. 0%, P = 0.036, respectively). Tumors in young female patients were found significantly less often in the lower-third of the stomach and showed a significantly greater frequency of MSI, compared to tumors in young male patients (33% vs. 9%, P = 0.046, 5% vs. 30%, P = 0.010, respectively). These results suggest that the pathways of gastric carcinogenesis differ between young patients and older patients, and that the pathways differ between the sexes in young patients.     

A clinicopathological study in young patients with gastric carcinoma.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Gastric carcinoma rarely affects young patients. This study was undertaken in order to clarify the clinicopathological features and prognosis of young patients with gastric carcinoma. METHODS: The resected 107 specimens from 105 patients younger than 30 years of age with gastric carcinoma were investigated using hematoxylin and eosin stain. RESULTS: The male:female ratio was 1:1.6. Histologically, poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma was the most common type (94/107, 87.9%) (P < 0.001). Most tumors were located in the middle third of the stomach (P < 0.001). All patients had depressed lesions. The 5-year survival rates of early and advanced gastric carcinoma were 100% (30/30) and 23.5% (8/34), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Characteristic clinicopathological features in young patients, such as gender ratio, tumor location, macroscopic type, and histological type, were different from those in older ones. The prognosis of early gastric carcinoma in young patients was much better than that in older patients, although the prognosis of advanced gastric carcinoma in young patients was worse than that of older patients. These findings seem to indicate that young patients with early gastric carcinoma can tolerate radical treatments well; however, the aggressiveness of lesions are emphasized in patients with advanced gastric carcinoma.     

Severe Manifestations and Grave Prognosis in Young Patients with Gastric Cancer in Thailand

Background: Gastric cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death worldwide and occurs most frequently in the age group of 5070 years. Rarely reports have appeared regarding younger age groups. The purpose of this study was to compare clinical characteristics and outcome of treatment between young and elderly patients with gastric cancer in Thailand. Materials and Methods: Clinical information, histological features, endoscopic findings and treatment outcome were reviewed and collected from Thammasat University Hospital, Pathumthani and Bangkok Medical Center, Bangkok, Thailand between September 2011March 2015. Results: A total of 154 gastric tumor patients including 101 with benign tumors (22 males and 79 females, mean age 62.6 years) and 53 with gastric cancers (27 males and 26 females, mean age 60.6 years) were enrolled in this study. Gastric cancer patients presented with alarm symptoms such as anemia, anorexia and weight loss significantly more frequently than benign gastric tumor patients. In gastric cancer patients, mean duration of symptoms prior to diagnosis was shorter in younger (     

Decisions for extent of gastric surgery in gastric cancer patients: younger patients require more attention than the elderly

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: There is a prevailing belief that young patients with gastric adenocarcinomas have a more aggressive disease. METHODS: We reviewed the prospectively collected database of 753 gastric adenocarcinomas patients who had undergone curative gastrectomy. Clinicopathological factors and the survival rates for each pathological TNM stage were compared between patients younger than 40 years of age and the others. RESULTS: Fifty-four (9.8%) patients were younger than 40 years of age. The overall accuracy of the intra-operative stage was 62.5%; 54.0% in the young patients and 63.5% in older patients (P = 0.006). Intraoperative under-staging was more commonly seen in the younger patients when compared to the older patients. These trends were more prominent in patients with surgical stage I disease. Age proved to be an independent risk factor influencing the accuracy of intraoperative staging using a logistic regression analysis. There was no difference in overall 3-year survival rate between the two age groups for each pathological TNM stage. CONCLUSIONS: The present study showed that intra-operative under-staging was more common in young patients with gastric cancer, especially with stage I disease. This finding raises the concern for inaccurate diagnosis and surgical under treatment in younger patients with stage I gastric cancer.     

COMPARISON BETWEEN YOUNG AND OLD PATIENTS WITH LUNG CANCER

Lung cancer is a common malignancy in China. The majority of cases of lung cancer were diagnosed inpatients more than 40 years old. There are few datacomparing clinical characteristics, disease status,treatment modality of very young (≤40 years) vs very old (≥70 years) patients in China. This study was designed as retrospective review of all lung cancer patients referred to the Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital (SRRSH) over a 6-year period to compare demographic data, disease status, or treatme…     

Analysis of Clinicopathologic Characteristics and Prognosis of Gastric Cancer in Young and Older Patients

Background

The worldwide incidence of gastric cancer is gradually declining, however it remains the fourth highest in cancer incidence and the second leading cause of cancer death. Gastric cancer in young people is a disturbing problem and the routine screening does not include people less than 35 years. The clinicopathological features of gastric carcinoma are said to differ between young and elderly patients and it is thought that the prognosis of this disease is worse for younger patients. It is also suggested that the diagnosis is usually made later or have a more aggressive behaviour. Although, others report that tumor staging and prognosis for young patients is similar to older patients and depends on whether the patients undergo a curative resection. All these data need more investigation and studies. Although Portugal has a high incidence of gastric cancer, no studies have yet been performed comparing the clinicopathologic features and prognosis of young and elderly patients with gastric cancer.

Aims

This study intend to assess whether the clinicopathological features and prognosis of gastric cancer in young patients (YGC) is similar to older ones (OGC).

Methods

Between 2000 and 2005, 406 patients with histological diagnosis of primary gastric cancer, treated in the Departments of Surgery and Oncology at the Centro Hospitalar of Vila Nova de Gaia / Espinho, were regularly followed at least for five years after surgery. These were reviewed retrospectively. Several variables were analyzed in young patients and compared with the elder ones. We used the chi-square and Fisher to evaluate the statistical association between categorical variables and t-test for numeric variables. Survival was estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method and used the log-rank test to assess differences in survival among different subgroups of patients. The criteria for statistical significance was p?<?0.05. Data analysis was performed using the SPSS 18.

Results and Conclusions

With regard to resectability, 78 % of the tumors were resected in the group of younger patients, the surgery more frequently achieved was total gastrectomy with anastomosis in Y of Roux. In the elder group, about 62 % of the tumors were resected and BII gastrectomy was the most frequent surgery. The diffuse adenocarcinoma was the most frequent histological type in younger patients, whereas in older patients was intestinal adenocarcinoma. With regard to the stage in the first group there was a predominance of stages: IA and IV (26.1 %) in the second: IV (25.8 %). The survival for stage III e IV was significantly worst in YGC compared with OGC.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Helicobacter pylori</Emphasis> infection,but not genetic polymorphism of CYP2E1, is highly prevalent in gastric cancer patients younger than 40 years

Background Gastric cancers in young adults are thought to be associated with risk factors that include Helicobacter pylori infection and genetic polymorphism. The objective of this study was to elucidate the roles of these risk factors in patients younger than 40 years by analyzing clinicopathological data and H. pylori infection, and using molecular epidemiologic techniques. Methods Clinicopathological features, the presence of H. pylori infection, endoscopic characteristics of gastritis, genetic polymorphism of P4502E1 (CYP2E1), and family history of cancer in patients with gastric cancer treated surgically at Nippon Medical School Hospital from 1991 to 2004 were analyzed, based on our medical database. Results Gastric cancer in those younger than 40 years was characterized by a predominance of female patients with poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma who had undergone total gastrectomy with extended lymphadenectomy. H. pylori infection had a higher prevalence in patients with gastric cancer than in patients with normal endoscopic results or chronic gastritis, especially in those younger than 40 years (odds ratio, 13.7). Atrophic gastritis, nodular gastritis, and rugal hyperplastic gastritis were observed by endoscopy as H. pylori-associated gastritis. No difference in the incidence of either CYP2E1 genetic polymorphism or a family history of cancer was observed among different age groups. Conclusion Gastric cancer in patients younger than 40 years is closely associated with H. pylori infection, but not with genetic characteristics. Eradication therapy for H. pylori and endoscopic examination of H. pylori-positive young adults may be anticipated to be adopted as a strategy for the prevention and/or early detection of cancer.     

Very young women (<35 years) with operable breast cancer: features of disease at presentation.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer rarely occurs in young women. Our knowledge about disease presentation, prognosis and treatment effects are largely dependent upon older series. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We evaluated biological features and stage at presentation for 1427 consecutive premenopausal patients aged < or = 50 years with first diagnosis of invasive breast cancer referred to surgery at the European Institute of Oncology from April 1997 to August 2000. A total of 185 patients (13%) were aged < 35 years ('very young') and 1242 (87%) were aged 35-50 years ('less young'). The expression of estrogen receptors (ER), progesterone receptors (PgR), presence of vascular invasion (VI), grading (G), expression of Ki-67, HER2/neu overexpression, pathological stage according to TNM staging system (pTNM), pathological tumor size and number of axillary lymph node involvement were evaluated. RESULTS: Compared with less young patients, the very young patient group had a higher percentage of tumors classified as ER negative (P < 0.001), PgR negative (P = 0.001), higher expression of Ki-67 > or = 20% of cells stained; 62.2% versus 53%, (P < 0.001), vascular or lymphatic invasion (48.6% versus 37.3%, P = 0.006), and pathological grade 3 (P < 0.0001). There was no difference between the two groups for pT, pathological tumor size (pN) and number of positive lymph nodes. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that compared with less young premenopausal patients, very young women have a greater chance of having an endocrine-unresponsive tumor, and are more likely to present with a higher grade, more extensively proliferating and vessel invading disease. Pathological tumor size, nodal status and number of positive axillary lymph-nodes have a similar distribution among the younger and the older cohorts, thus not supporting previous data indicating more advanced disease in younger patients at diagnosis of operable disease.     

Curative surgery for gastric cancer in the elderly: treatment decisions, surgical morbidity, mortality, prognosis and quality of life

AIMS AND BACKGROUND: Surgical risk is deemed to be higher in the aged population because there are often comorbidities that may affect the postoperative result. This consideration is important for the treatment decision-making for gastric cancer in the elderly. The aim of this study was to identify factors influencing mortality, morbidity, survival and quality of life after curative surgery for gastric cancer in patients aged 75 years and older, and to plan their appropriate management. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: From January 1993 to December 2004, 135 patients underwent surgery at our department because of gastric cancer. Ninety-four of these patients (69.6%) underwent potentially curative gastrectomy. A cross-sectional study of 23 patients aged 75 years and older and 71 younger patients who underwent curative gastrectomy was carried out: patient characteristics, tumor characteristics, management, morbidity, mortality, survival, and quality of life were evaluated. RESULTS: Elderly patients had significantly more comorbidities and a poorer nutritional status than younger patients. The surgical procedures were similar in both groups and the overall morbidity rate was 27.9% and the overall mortality rate 8.5%. Medical mortality was significantly higher in elderly patients, and the presence of comorbidities was the only independent factor affecting mortality. The 5-year survival rate was 56.2% in the older group versus 62.1% in the younger group and tumor stage was the only prognostic factor influencing survival. Quality of life after surgery was similar in both groups. The significantly better postoperative functional outcome after subtotal gastrectomy suggested a better compliance of elderly patients with subtotal than total gastrectomy. CONCLUSIONS: In the elderly, surgical strategies must be modulated on the basis of comorbidities, tumor stage and future quality of life. Since elderly patients have no worse prognosis than younger patients, age is not a contraindication to curative resection for gastric cancer. Subtotal gastrectomy should be the procedure of choice mainly in elderly patients as it offers better quality of life.     

Colorectal carcinoma in young patients.

Utilizing Tumor Registry records dating from 1935 to 1988, 50 patients diagnosed with colorectal adenocarcinoma at the age of 40 years or younger were retrospectively studied with respect to sex, race, family history, delay in diagnosis, primary tumor location, tumor differentiation, mucin production, stage at presentation, and the effect of these factors on 5-year survival. This younger group of patients was compared to a computer-generated, randomly selected group of 50 patients 40 years of age or older. There was no difference with respect to sex, racial distribution, family history, symptoms at presentation, or expediency of physician diagnosis between the two groups. Younger patients waited significantly longer to seek medical attention than did their older counterparts. However, those patients who delayed presentation had no higher incidence of advanced disease than those patients who presented earlier. Younger patients had a higher incidence of poorly differentiated, advanced, right-sided tumors. This is in contrast to a predominance of well-differentiated, less advanced, rectosigmoid lesions in the older patients. There was no age-related difference in the incidence of mucin-producing tumors. Overall 5-year survival was 75% in older patients, in contrast to only 51% in younger patients (P = 0.01). We conclude in this study that it is advanced stage at presentation that is the most significant prognostic indicator in patients of all ages. The high incidence of poorly differentiated, right-sided tumors is responsible for the majority of young patients presenting with advanced disease, resulting in their poorer prognosis.     

Ovarian cancer in younger vs older women: a population-based analysis

To compare the clinico-pathologic prognostic factors and survival of younger vs older women diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer. Demographic, clinico-pathologic, treatment, and surgery information were obtained from patients with ovarian cancer from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program from 1988 to 2001 and analysed using Kaplan-Meier estimates. Of 28 165 patients, 400 were <30 years (very young), 11 601 were 30-60 (young), and 16 164 were >60 (older) years of age. Of the very young, young, and older patients, 261 (65.3%), 4664 (40.2%), and 3643 (22.5%) had stage I-II disease, respectively (P<0.001). Across all stages, very young women had a significant survival advantage over the young and older groups with 5-year disease-specific survival estimates at 78.8% vs 58.8 and 35.3%, respectively (P<0.001). This survival difference between the age groups persists even after adjusting for race, stage, grade, and surgical treatment. Reproductive age (16-40 years) women with stage I-II epithelial ovarian cancer who received uterine-sparing procedures had similar survivals compared to those who underwent standard surgery (93.3% vs 91.5%, P=0.26). Younger women with epithelial ovarian cancer have a survival advantage compared to older patients.     

Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma - Comparative Evaluation of Pathological Parameters in Young and Old Patients

Background: To evaluate pathological features of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and tocompare these pathological features in patients younger and older than 40 years. Materials and Methods: Allresection specimens of HNSCC between 2010 and 2013 evaluated. Tumor characteristics - grade, location (site)cervical node status, alongwith presence or absence of extranodal extension, lymphovascular invasion, genderand age - were extracted from surgical pathology reports. Results: Among these n=19 patients (21.8%) were40 years or younger and n=68 patients (78.2%) were above 40 years of age. The mean age was 34 (20-40 years)in the younger group and 56 (42-86) in the older group. The most common location of HNSCC in both groupswas the oral cavity. The analysis of histopathological features including grade of tumor, tumor size, extranodalextension and comparison between two groups do not show any significant difference. Conclusions: There are nospecific pathological characteristics of HNSCC in young patients. An interesting observation is that exposure toexpected risk factors is similar in both groups, in younger patients they have less time to act and yet tumors arethe same in terms of tumor size, lymph node status and lymphovascular invasion. Therefore further research isrecommended to look for potentiating factors.     

Cadherin-catenin adhesion system and mucin expression: a comparison between young and older patients with gastric carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Young patients are thought to develop gastric carcinomas with a molecular genetic profile that is distinct from that of gastric carcinomas occurring at a later age. The aim of this study was to compare the clinicopathological features and expression patterns of the markers E-cadherin and beta-catenin, and mucins (MUC1, MUC2, MUC5AC, and MUC6) in young and older patients. METHODS: The clinicopathological features and overall survival data of 62 young patients (age 40 years). A tissue microarray method and immunohistochemistry were used in order to analyze marker expression in paraffin-embedded tissue blocks obtained from both groups. RESULTS: The young group presented a higher percentage of diffuse-type tumors in comparison to the older group (P<0.01). The rates of positivity for E-cadherin and beta-catenin membranous expression patterns and mucin (MUC2, MUC5AC and MUC6) positivity were higher in the young group (P<0.01). Although young patients showed a lower frequency of alterations in marker expression and had significantly better survival rates than the older patients, neither age nor the marker expression pattern were found to be independent prognostic factors of survival. Only stage, tumor size, and tumor location persisted as prognostic factors for patients with gastric cancer. CONCLUSION: Biological markers of cellular adhesion and gastric differentiation were differently expressed in young and older patients. Our findings support the hypothesis that young patients develop carcinomas with a different genetic pathway compared to the pathway of tumors occurring at a later age, and we suggest further investigations to assess the prognostic relevance of the markers to specific subgroups.     

Clinicopathologic study of advanced gastric cancer without serosal invasion in young and old patients

Fifty-seven patients treated by radical gastric resections were retrospectively studied to understand the clinicopathologic characteristics of advanced gastric cancer without serosal invasion (the depth of tumor invasion limited to the muscularis propria or subserosal layer) in young and old age persons. There were 36 patients in the old age group (age > 60 years) and 21 in the young age group (age ≤ 40 years). The clinical and pathologic parameters for this study included sex, gross type, location, maximum tumor size, depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis, tumor stage, histologic type, and rate of curative resection. The old patients had a higher percentage of small tumors, subserosal invasion and lymph node metastasis, but these parameters were not significantly different from those of the young patients, nor did the sex ratio, gross type, location, and rate of curative resection show significant differences. The histologic feature was the only statistically significant parameter, determined by univariate and multivariate analyses. Poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma and signet ring cell carcinoma were detected in 10 (47.6%) and 4 (19.0%) of the 21 younger patients, respectively, while there were 4 (11.1%) and 2 (5.6%) in the old age group. Although the gastric cancer in young patients had more aggressive histologic characteristics than it did in elderly patients, survival rates between the two groups did not differ to any great degree. Our findings indicate that the prognosis for younger patients with advanced gastric cancer without serosal invasion was favorable when curative resection was performed. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Comparison between young and old patients with bronchogenic carcinoma

The aim of this study was to compare the clinical characteristics, histological type, stage at diagnosis, treatment and survival of young (< or = 45 years) and older patients with bronchogenic carcinoma. The study was designed as a retrospective review of all lung cancer patients referred to the Kuwait Cancer Control Center over a 10-year period from 1985 to 1994. The study comprised 590 patients with primary bronchogenic carcinoma, of whom 72 (12%) were < or = 45 years of age at the time of diagnosis. Median (range) duration of symptoms, percentage of smokers and male to female ratios for the younger and older patients were 8 (2-48) weeks vs. 8 (1-52) weeks (p = 0.9), 74% vs. 83% (p = 0.06) and 5.5 vs. 5.3, respectively. The majority of patients had advanced stage disease at presentation; 91% of the younger patients had stage III or IV compared with 88% of the older patients (p = 0.1). The histological types for the younger and older patients were 32% vs. 20% for adenocarcinoma (p = 0.01) and 33% vs. 45% for squamous cell carcinoma (p = 0.1). There were more patients in the younger group who had surgery (21% vs. 7.5%) than in the older group (p = 0.001). Follow-up data were available for 177 patients out of 190 Kuwaiti national patients (93%). The median (range) survival rates for young and old patients were 8 (3-62) months and 7 (1-174) months, respectively (p = 0.09). Only 6 patients survived for more than 5 years, one (7.6%) from the younger group and 5 (3%) from the older group. Our study shows a relatively high percentage of young patients in our population of lung cancer patients. Apart from the higher incidence of adenocarcinoma in the young group and the fact that these patients had more surgery than the older group, there were no other significant differences between the two groups.     

青年人与老年人肺癌的比较

目的 对青年人肺癌（年龄≤40岁）和老年人肺癌（年龄≥70岁）的病理类型、临床表现、性别比例、临床分期及对治疗的选择进行比较。方法 回顾性收集6年来在我院经病理学证实青年人组70例及老年人组135例肺癌患者的年龄、性别、组织学分类、起始症状、临床分期及治疗经过进行比较。结果 （1）青年人组中女性患者比例较老年人组明显增高（P＜0.01)。青年人组腺癌的比例亦较老年组高。（2）青年组中出现胸痛症状的比例明显高于老年人组（P＜0.01)。（3）青年人组中中晚、期比例略高于老年人组，但统计学上无显著性差异。（4）青年人组中手术治疗及放化疗的比例要明显高于老年人组（P＜0.01)，老年人组中更倾向于保守治疗。结论 青年人肺癌与老年人肺癌相比，女性患者比例明显增高，腺癌比例增高，疾病进展迅速，恶性度高，且易误诊。早期诊断，积极治疗能提高肺癌的生存期。     

Lung cancer in patients younger than 40 years of age.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: We investigated whether the clinicopathologic characteristics and prognosis of lung cancer in younger patients differ from those of older patients. METHODS: Among 2,763 lung cancer patients treated during the period from April of 1972 to April of 1997, we retrospectively investigated the clinical features and prognosis of 53 patients under 40 years of age (young group) and compared them with the findings of 1,886 patients with 60 years of age or older (elderly group). RESULTS: The proportion of female patients in the younger group was significantly higher than that in the elderly group (39.6% vs. 24.1%). The young group had a significantly higher proportion of adenocarcinoma (75.5% vs. 44.8%) and stage III-IV disease (73.6% vs. 59.2%) and a significantly lower proportion of squamous cell carcinoma (3.8% vs. 32.1%). Regarding the selection of therapy, in the young group, a significantly lower proportion of patients underwent surgical therapy (35.8% vs. 41.5%) and a significantly higher proportion of those (37.7% vs. 16.4%) received chemotherapy. The overall survival between the young and elderly groups was not significantly different. Moreover, the 5-year survival rate of the patients undergoing a surgical resection was 56.1% in the young group and 44.8% in the elderly group (P = 0.0615). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that the prognosis of young patients with lung cancer is at least equivalent to that of older patients; therefore, they should be managed according to the general therapeutic guidelines.     

Clinicopathological analysis of endometrial carcinoma in young women

Endometrial carcinoma found in patients younger than 50 years of age were analyzed clinicopathologically in comparison with those of other age groups. The results were 1) Out of 150 patients with endometrial carcinoma, 44 (29.3%) were diagnosed in those younger than 50 years of age and 17(11.3%) were under the age of 40. The average age of endometrial cancer was 53.6 years and that of atypical endometrial hyperplasia was 49.2. 2) The majority of these patients (93.4%) had ever complained of vaginal bleeding, whereas those younger than 40 years of age had in 82.4%. 3) History of irregular menstrual cycle was only observed in 25.6% of the patients with the age 50 or older, whereas it was complained of in 61.5% of those among forties and in 56.3% of those younger than 40. 4) Nulliparity was found in 19.8% among 50 and older, whereas 70.4% and 64.7% were seen respectively in those among forties and younger than 40. 5) Hypertension was found more frequently in older patients, but diabetes mellitus and obesity did not correlate with age. 6) Seventy cases (46.7%) has history of receiving screening for cervical cancer without detecting endometrial cancer. 7) Well differentiated adenocarcinoma (G1) and adenoacanthoma was observed frequently in younger age group. Endometrial hyperplasia was often combined with cancer in young women. Having the data above mentioned, importance of screening for endometrial cancer in younger women is discussed.     

Radiotherapy of early tongue cancer in patients less than 40 years old.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the results of treatment for early mobile tongue cancer in patients less than 40 years. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Between January 1967 and September 1992, 70 patients less than 40 years old (young age group) with early tongue cancer (T1-2N0M0) were treated with low-dose-rate (LDR) interstitial radiotherapy at the Osaka University Hospital (OUH). All patients had a minimum 2-year follow-up (median: 13 years). External radiotherapy (median: 30 Gy) was combined in 25 cases. The treatment results were compared with those for two older age groups (middle age: 40-64 years old; old age: 65 years old or more). RESULTS: The 5-year probability of cause-specific survival (CSS) rate for the young age group was 80%, which was not significantly different from the two older groups: 81% for middle age and 71% for old age. However, male patients of young age showed significantly worse rates than those of middle and old age (p = 0.02). The 5-year local control rate for the young age group was 78%. It was not significantly different from the two older groups: 81% for middle age and 70% for old age. The incidence of regional lymph node metastasis was 32% for T1, 48% for T2, 56% for males, and 24% for females. The regional failure rate of young males was significantly higher than those of the two older groups: 32% for middle and 22% for old age (p = 0.001). CONCLUSION: The overall treatment results for patients with early tongue cancer less than 40 years old were not worse than those of older age groups. However, male gender was a risk factor for lymph node metastasis and CSS.