Pediatric gastric adenocarcinoma: A National Cancer Data Base review

Abstract Purpose We sought to compare the presentation, management, and outcomes in gastric adenocarcinoma cancer for pediatric and adult patients. Methods Using the 2004 to 2014 National Cancer Database (NCDB), patients ≤ 21 years (pediatric) were retrospectively compared to > 21 years (adult). Chi-squared tests were used to compare categorical variables, and Cox regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) for survival differences. Results Of the 129,024 gastric adenocarcinoma cases identified, 129 (0.10%) occurred in pediatric patients. Pediatric cases presented with more advanced disease, including poorly differentiated tumors (81% vs 65%, p = 0.006) and stage 4 disease (56% vs 41%, p = 0.002). Signet ring adenocarcinoma comprised 45% of cases in the pediatric group as compared to 20% of cases in the adults (P  Conclusion While gastric adenocarcinoma in pediatric patients present with a more advanced stage and poorly differentiated tumors compared to adults, survival appears to be comparable. Type of study Retrospective cohort study. Level of evidence III