S-PHASE FRACTION AND TUMOR ANEUPLOIDY IN YOUNG-PATIENTS WITH GASTRIC-CARCINOMA

Young patients with gastric cancer are considered to have a worse prog nosis than older patients. It was our intention to assess if biologica l characteristics of tumors in young patients differ from those observ ed in older patients, Gastric carcinoma tumor samples were obtained fr om storage from three groups of patients: age 40 years and younger; 41 to 60 years, and older and examined for tumor ploidy and S-phase frac tion, Thirty-one of 662 (4.6%) patients with gastric carcinoma treated at our Institution between 1986 and 1994 were younger than 40 years. Tumor aneuploidy was present in 33 younger patients, in 122 patients i n the 41 to 60 years age group: and in 167 patients in 61 years and ol der age group. S-phase fraction was 15.03 +/- 6.62 in patients younger than 40 years, 16.63 +/- 8.46 in the 40 to 61 years age group and 17. 87 +/- 10.63 in the 61 years and older age group. These differences we re not statistically significant. It appears that there are no signifi cant differences in S-phase fraction and tumor aneuploidy in patients younger or older than 40 years, suggesting that gastric tumors arising in young people do not have different biological properties.