Clinicopathologic Characteristics and Long-Term Outcome of Gastric Cancer Patients with Family History: Seven-Year Follow-Up Study for Korean Health Check-Up Subjects

Background/Aims. Family history (FHx) has been reported to be a risk factor for gastric cancer (GC). However, the long-term prognosis of GC with FHx remains controversial. We aimed to investigate the clinicopathologic characteristics and long-term outcomes of GC according to the presence or absence of GC FHx. Methods. This study was conducted on asymptomatic healthy individuals who underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy for the purpose of GC screening. Patients who were diagnosed with GC between October 2003 and December 2013 at Seoul National University Hospital Healthcare System Gangnam Center were identified. Demographic and clinicopathologic characteristics were compared between the groups with and without FHx of GC. Overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) were assessed as primary outcomes. Results. There were no significant differences in tumor characteristics according to FHx of GC. However, preexisting adenoma was more frequent in patients with FHx than in those without FHx (14.5% vs. 6.3%, p=0.035). The proportion of patients with microsatellite instability (MSI) was also higher in groups with FHx of GC (43.2% vs. 13.2%, p=0.006). Helicobacter pylori infection rates of patients with FHx of GC tended to be higher although not significant (70.5% vs. 61.3%, p=0.188). However, OS and RFS at 5 years of the GC patients with FHx were not significantly different from those of patients without FHx. Conclusion. Preexisting adenoma and GC with MSI are more common in patients with FHx of GC than in those without. There were no significant differences in the survival rate according to FHx.