Clinical Outcomes of Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection in Patients under 40 Years Old with Early Gastric Cancer

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The clinicopathologic features of gastric cancer in young patients are different from those of older patients. However, endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is performed regardless of age. The purpose of this study was to characterize younger patients (≤40 years) who underwent ESD for early gastric cancer (EGC) and analyze the results of ESD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From January 2006 to June 2014, 55 patients aged 40 years or younger with newly diagnosed EGC underwent ESD at two tertiary hospitals. The clinicopathologic features of EGC and clinical outcomes of ESD in these young patients were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: A total 55 patients with 57 EGC lesions underwent ESD. Female sex, superficial flat or depressed lesions, and undifferentiated histology were more common in younger patients than in older patients in our institutional ESD cohort. The en bloc resection rate was 92.7% and the complete resection rate was 94.5%. Although there was a high proportion of undifferentiated cancer in the younger patient group, the curative resection rate was 72.7%. Among 15 patients with non-curative resection, 4 patients underwent additional surgery and 1 patient underwent argon plasma coagulation at the ESD ulcer margin. Eight patients were placed under close surveillance without additional treatment, and no recurrent tumors developed, with a median follow-up period of 37.2±23.6 months. CONCLUSIONS: Younger EGC patients who underwent ESD showed the typical characteristics seen in younger patients with gastric cancer. ESD in younger EGC patients showed comparable outcomes to those in patients with undifferentiated EGC in general.