The prognostic value of age in non-metastatic gastric cancer after gastrectomy: a retrospective study in the U.S. and China.

We explored the influence of age on clinicopathologic features and survival of patients with M0 gastric cancer (GC). 16856 GC patients from Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database and 1037 GC patients from Chinese multiple centers were enrolled in the U.S. and Chinese cohort, respectively. 50-year-old was treated as cutoff age. Propensity score method was used to carry out a 1:1 paired match. In the U.S. cohort, we found that younger patients presented poor tumor behavior. However, in spite of worse outcome in stage IIV cohort, young group showed better 3-year survival in M0 patients, especially for those who underwent a total gastrectomy. In a matched analysis, a better prognosis was still observed in younger group. The prognostic value of age was also validated in M0 GC patients with gastrectomy in Chinese cohort. In spite of the worse outcome in survival curve of stage IIV GC cohort, young patients with gastrectomy presented favorable survival in M0 subgroup. It is also applicable in China. Early diagnosis and treatment should be taken seriously in young GC patients since they often possess poorer characteristics but benefited more from gastrectomy.