Familial gastric cancer in the Japanese population is frequently located at the cardiac region.
The clinical features of familial gastric cancer are still unknown. To approach this question, we investigated the clinicopathological characteristics of 16 cases of familial gastric cancer. In this study the criteria used to define familial gastric cancer was the existence of three or more family members with gastric cancer in at least two successive generations. The clinicopathological characteristics of cases who fulfilled this criteria were studied. This study contained 16 familial gastric cancer probands. Seven cases (44%) of gastric cancer had developed at the cardiac region of the stomach. This frequency was significantly higher than for gastric cancer in the general population in Japan (15.4%, p < 0.01). Undifferentiated types were dominant in familial gastric cancer (69%, p < 0.05). Furthermore, the frequency of disseminated peritoneal (40%) and liver metastases (20%) in familial gastric cancer was also significantly higher than for gastric cancer in the general population in Japan (10.9%, p < 0.01, and 4.4%, p < 0.05, respectively). Familial gastric cancers were frequently located at the cardiac region and appeared to be more aggressive than sporadic gastric cancers. The unique characteristics of familial gastric cancer suggest a genetic background in their etiology.
Kakiuchi
H
H
First Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Sapporo Medical University, Sapporo, Japan.
Itoh
F
F
Kusano
M
M
Adachi
Y
Y
Mita
H
H
Mihara
M
M
Matsuno
K
K
Endo
T
T
Hinoda
Y
Y
Hosokawa
M
M
Imai
K
K
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002299:Cardia; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000556:secondary; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010375:Pedigree; D010534:Peritoneal Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000556:secondary; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology*