Chen X, Zeng Y, Huang Y, et al. - In this prospective analysis of 575 gastric cancer (GC) patients, researchers assessed preoperative cachexia by age group. They also comprehensively examined the influence of preoperative cachexia on the prognosis of patients in all age groups. Cachexia was detected in 35.8% (206 of 575) individuals. Compared with non-cachexia patients, cachexia patients experienced a shorter median survival. Independent association of cachexia, age, readmission, tumor size, TNM stage, whole stomach cancer, and combined operation with worse overall survival (OS) was evident. Following grouping by age, a link was identified between cachexia and OS in patients younger than 50 years old, patients 51–60 years old, and patients 61–70 years old, but not in patients older than 71 years. A significant influence of cachexia on postoperative length of stay and hospitalization costs was seen only in patients younger than 50 years old. In this study, preoperative cachexia was identified as a predictor of poor outcome in younger GC patients and these patients deserve greater attention.