Download PDF
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · South Asian J Cancer 2024; 13(02): 142-145
DOI: 10.1055/s-0043-1771275
Original Article
Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer

Adolescent and Young Adults with Gastric Cancer (AYA-GC)—The Dilemma of an Under-Represented Group: A Multi-Institutional Analysis from the Indian Subcontinent

Soumya Surath Panda 
1   Department of Medical Oncology, Institute of Medical Sciences and Sum Hospital, Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
,
Swati Sucharita Mohanty 
1   Department of Medical Oncology, Institute of Medical Sciences and Sum Hospital, Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
,
Antara Sanyal 
1   Department of Medical Oncology, Institute of Medical Sciences and Sum Hospital, Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
,
Prasanth Ganesan
2   Department of Medical Oncology, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Puducherry, India
,
Smita Kayal
2   Department of Medical Oncology, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Puducherry, India
,
Krishnakumar Rathnam
3   Department of Medical Oncology, Meenakshi Mission Medical College and Research Center, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India
,
S. V. Saju 
3   Department of Medical Oncology, Meenakshi Mission Medical College and Research Center, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India
,
Sunu Cyriac
4   Department of Medical Oncology, Amala Institute of Medical Sciences, Thrissur, Kerala, India
,
P. Unnikrishnan
4   Department of Medical Oncology, Amala Institute of Medical Sciences, Thrissur, Kerala, India
,
Amit Sehrawat 
5   Department of Medical Oncology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India
,
Deepak Sundriyal
5   Department of Medical Oncology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India
,
Ashwin Oommen Philips 
6   Department of Medical Oncology, Christian Medical College & Hospital, Ludhiana, Punjab, India
,
Deepak Jain
7   Department of Surgery, Christian Medical College & Hospital, Ludhiana, Punjab, India
,
Sumit Subhadarshi Mohanty 
8   Department of Gastrosurgery, Institute of Medical Sciences and Sum Hospital, Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
,
Sunil Kumar Agrawal
9   Department of Surgical Oncology, Institute of Medical Sciences and Sum Hospital, Siksha 'O' Anusandhan University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
,
Lalatendu Moharana 
1   Department of Medical Oncology, Institute of Medical Sciences and Sum Hospital, Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
,
Satyaprakash Ray Choudhury
8   Department of Gastrosurgery, Institute of Medical Sciences and Sum Hospital, Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
,
Biswajit Dubashi 
2   Department of Medical Oncology, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Puducherry, India
› Author Affiliations Funding The authors are thankful to Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) through the National Biopharma Mission to provide funding for the research.
› Further Information
Also available at
   Permissions and Reprints

Abstract

Zoom Image
Soumya Surath Panda

Gastric cancer (GC) is often ignored at a young age, which frequently leads to tragic consequences. The worldwide incidence of GC is increasing at a young age. In view of the limited Indian publication, we sought to characterize clinicopathological parameters and risk factors in the adolescents and young adults (AYA) population. Retrospective data from six centers (which are part of the Network of Oncology Clinical Trials in India) from 2015 to 2020 were collected from patient (18–39 years of age) records. This study was approved by the institutional ethical committee of individual centers. All statistical analyses were performed using Microsoft Excel and SPSS (Version 20). Data interpretation along with the analysis of obtained results was carried out using the following tests: Qualitative data was expressed in terms of frequency/percentage. One-hundred fifty-two AYA GC patients were enrolled. The 31 to 39 years age group was most affected in which 76.3% were females. The majority of patients were nonalcoholic (93.4%), nonsmokers (98.0%), and without a family history (98.0%). The most common (MC) presenting symptom was abdominal pain (67.1%). MC site was antrum (48%). Among esophagogastric junction cancers, the majority were type I and II Siewert classifications (77% [20/26] patients in cardia), MC histology—signet ring cell (67.1%) followed by diffuse-type (65.1%). Most were poorly differentiated (65.1%) and were diagnosed at an advanced stage (III & IV= 54.6%). This is one of our country's first large multicenter studies on GC in the AYA population. There was a higher female prevalence, aggressive tumor behavior and the majority of patients were diagnosed at a more advanced stage. The majority were nonsmokers with a negative family history. Awareness among general people, researchers, clinicians, and policymakers must be improved to better the loss of life years in the younger population.

Keywords

adolescent and young adults - gastric cancer - multi-institutional - incidence - prevalence - Network of Oncology Clinical Trials in India

Ethical Approval

The study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee (vide IMS.SH/SOA/2021/097 letter dated 07.07.2021). All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.




Publication History

Article published online:
21 July 2023

© 2023. MedIntel Services Pvt Ltd. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Thieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
A-12, 2nd Floor, Sector 2, Noida-201301 UP, India