Age Differences in the Histology and Growth Pattern of the Gastric Cancer

Abstract

The histological picture of the gastric cancer and its growth pattern differ according to the age of the host, and there are problems to be solved clear as to the nature of the differences.
One hundred fourty three surgical cases of gastric cancer (30 cases of small-sized mucosal, 35 of large-sized mucosal and 78 of advanced gastric cancer) and 120 autopsy cases of gastric cancer with pulmonary metastases were examined.
Comparative study of cancer tissue was performed with special reference to the age of the host and to the stage of cancer growth, and some interesting findings were obtained as follows:
1) In the primary foci
In the early stage of gastric cancer growth, the histological picture of cancer tissue was composed mainly of adenocarcinoma in all age groups.
With advancement of the stage, the picture of adenocarcinoma became to be less frequently seen, and, instead of adenocarcinoma, pictures of carcinoma simplex and carcinoma disseminata became to be more often noted.
This tendency was more marked in the younger age group than in the old; so that the age difference in the histological picture was found to become more marked in the course of cancer growth.
2) In the metastatic foci in the lung
The age difference in the histological picture in the pulmonary metastases was less marked than that in the primaries. However, remarkable differences were noted in the pattern of the spread among the hosts with different ages.
The picture of interstitial spread was remarkably seen in the young, and the intraalveolar spread was found to become marked with age.
3) These age differences were considered to be due to the environmental conditions, particularly to age dependent character of the interstitia, where the cancer grew.