Four major characteristics of gastric cancer in young people

According to statistics from the China Anti-Cancer Association, in recent years, with the increasing incidence of gastric cancer among young people, the peak age of gastric cancer patients in my country has shifted from 40 to 60 years old to 35 to 55 years old, and patients in this age group account for about 68% of all gastric cancer patients. Among them, the incidence of gastric cancer among young people aged 19 to 35 has shown a clear upward trend, which has attracted great attention.

Compared with general gastric cancer patients, gastric cancer in young people may present the following four characteristics:

Clinical symptoms are insidious and lack specificity

There are often no clinical symptoms in the early stages of gastric cancer in young people. Even if symptoms occur, they are only mild pain and discomfort in the upper abdomen, indigestion, loss of appetite, weight loss, etc., which are not specific to gastric cancer, so further examination and diagnosis are abandoned.

Prone to upper gastrointestinal bleeding

Gastric cancer in young people is highly malignant and grows rapidly. Due to insufficient blood supply around the cancerous lesions, cancerous ulcers may form, leading to bleeding and even gastric perforation. Frequent bleeding may also cause severe anemia. Research data shows that 50% to 60% of young people with gastric cancer may have bleeding, while only 10% to 30% of general gastric cancers may have bleeding.

The disease progresses rapidly and metastasizes widely

According to clinical statistics, the average time from onset to first visit to a doctor for gastric cancer in young people is 2.4 months, and the average time from the onset of symptoms to diagnosis of gastric cancer is 6.8 months. In addition, many young gastric cancer patients have extensive metastasis in the early stages, most of which metastasize to the abdominal lymph nodes and left supraclavicular lymph nodes, and many also metastasize to the liver, lungs, bones, and urogenital system.

Easy to misdiagnose

When gastric cancer first occurs in young people, the symptoms are hidden and non-specific, so 50% of patients are easily misdiagnosed as gastritis, gastric ulcer and other diseases.