{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,14]],"date-time":"2026-10-14T19:51:55Z","timestamp":1792007515425,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":47,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,30]],"date-time":"2025-07-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1753833600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Deanship of Scientific Research, College of Medicine, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia","award":["2024\/03\/3 1079"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2024\/03\/3 1079"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Current Oncology"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Gastric cancer traditionally affects older adults, and its precursor lesions and risk factors are well-documented in this population. Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection remains highly prevalent in Saudi Arabia and contributes to gastric pathology. However, early-onset gastric cancer (EOGC), diagnosed in individuals aged \u2264 45 years, presents unique challenges and remains poorly understood in young populations. Therefore, we conducted an observational cohort study using a prospective longitudinal design (2021\u20132024) involving 1823 Saudi nationals aged 18\u201345 years who underwent zoom high-definition chromoendoscopy to evaluate the prevalence of premalignant gastric lesions (PGLs) and EOGC. We found a high H. pylori prevalence (78.0%) with PGLs in 1.9% of participants and EOGC-adenocarcinoma in 0.7% of patients. All EOGC cases arose from dysplasia, with most PGLs being classified as OLGA\/OLGIM stage II\/III. Multiple risk factorswere significantly associated with PGLs and EOGC, including H. pylori infection (p = 0.022), increasing age (p &lt; 0.001), a family history of gastric cancer (p &lt; 0.001), poor dietary habits (p &lt; 0.001), obesity (p &lt; 0.001), and smoking (p &lt; 0.001). Additional EOGC risk factors include dage of 36\u201345 years (p = 0.018), EBV infection (p = 0.016), and diabetes mellitus (p = 0.001). These findings demonstrate the notable presence of PGLs and EOGC in young Saudi adults and emphasize the importance of early detection and risk factor management in this vulnerable population.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/curroncol32080428","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,30]],"date-time":"2025-07-30T07:37:23Z","timestamp":1753861043000},"page":"428","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["A Longitudinal Study of Premalignant Gastric Lesions and Early Onset Gastric Cancer Among Young Adults in Central Saudi Arabia"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"32","author":[{"given":"Ahmed","family":"Albadrani","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University Hospital, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Al Kharj 11942, Saudi Arabia"},{"name":"Endoscopy Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, Arryan Hospital, Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Ar Rayyan Hospital, Riyadh 14212, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2859-9188","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Georgios","family":"Zacharakis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University Hospital, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Al Kharj 11942, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-6412-4013","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mohammed Saad","family":"Alqahtani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Al Kharj 11942, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-2728-3169","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Abdulrahman","family":"AlHarbi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University Hospital, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Al Kharj 11942, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-6944-6841","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Abdulaziz","family":"Alkudam","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University Hospital, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Al Kharj 11942, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Abdullah","family":"Bawazir","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University Hospital, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Al Kharj 11942, Saudi Arabia"},{"name":"Department of Internal Medicine, King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh 12231, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Naif","family":"Albulayhid","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University Hospital, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Al Kharj 11942, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Majed Zaki","family":"Bahader","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Endoscopy Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, Arryan Hospital, Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Ar Rayyan Hospital, Riyadh 14212, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ahmed Mohammed","family":"Alghayyamah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Endoscopy Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, Arryan Hospital, Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Ar Rayyan Hospital, Riyadh 14212, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zahraa Saeed","family":"Alzaher","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Endoscopy Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, Arryan Hospital, Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Ar Rayyan Hospital, Riyadh 14212, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2146","DOI":"10.1097\/CM9.0000000000003259","article-title":"Emerging trends in early-onset gastric cancer","volume":"137","author":"Wang","year":"2024","journal-title":"Chin. 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