early onset gastric carcinoma
Less than 10% of patients present with a gastric cancer before 45 years of age (early onset gastric carcinoma) and these patients are believed to develop gastric carcinomas with a molecular genetic profile differing from that of sporadic carcinomas occurring at a later age. In young patients, the role of genetics is presumably greater than in older patients, with less of an impact from environmental carcinogens. As a result, hereditary gastric cancers and early onset gastric cancers can provide vital information about molecular genetic pathways in sporadic cancers and may aid in the unraveling of gastric carcinogenesis.
References
Milne AN, Sitarz R, Carvalho R, Carneiro F, Offerhaus GJ. Early onset gastric cancer: on the road to unraveling gastric carcinogenesis. Curr Mol Med. 2007 Feb;7(1):15-28. PMID: 17311530