Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Multicenter Study
. 2017 Dec;16(4):334-342.
doi: 10.1016/j.clcc.2017.03.008. Epub 2017 Mar 21.

Comparing Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes of Young-onset and Late-onset Colorectal Cancer: An International Collaborative Study

Young Soo Rho  1 , Marine Gilabert  2 , Karol Polom  3 , Archil Aladashvili  4 , Katerina Kopeckova  5 , Vera Megdanova  6 , Niamh Coleman  7 , Megan Greally  7 , Daniele Marrelli  3 , Franco Roviello  3 , Ray McDermott  6 , Veneta Petrova  6 , Zhasmina Mihaylova  6 , Zbynek Bortlicek  8 , Jana Prausova  5 , Gerald Batist  9 , Laurent Azoulay  10 , Petr Kavan  11
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Comparing Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes of Young-onset and Late-onset Colorectal Cancer: An International Collaborative Study

Young Soo Rho et al. Clin Colorectal Cancer. 2017 Dec.

Abstract

Background: Compared with the general population, the incidence of young-onset (YO) colorectal cancer (CRC) is increasing. However, a significant knowledge gap exists in the clinical characteristics, treatment patterns, and outcomes for these patients.

Materials and methods: Six international tertiary cancer centers conducted a retrospective study. Patients with YO CRC (aged 18-44 years) and LO CRC (aged > 44 years) diagnosed with histologically proven colorectal adenocarcinoma from June 2003 to June 2014 were enrolled. Patients were randomly chosen from each center's database, and the patient demographics and treatment information were collected. The data were then centralized, and the final analysis was performed at a single institution. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the crude and adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for progression-free survival and mortality, and YO was compared with LO. Site-specific HRs were pooled using a random-effects meta-analysis.

Results: Overall, 498 patients, including 224 with YO (129 men; mean age, 37 ± 5.5 years) and 274 with LO (167 men; mean age, 64.8 ± 9.5 years) CRC, were included. At the diagnosis, 137 patients (61.2%) and 122 patients (44.5%) with YO and LO CRC had metastatic disease, respectively. For both cohorts, the 3 most common presenting symptoms were pain, hematochezia, and weight loss. Surgery was performed in 141 YO (63.0%) and 219 LO (79.9%) patients. The longitudinal noncurative treatment patterns were similar, but more biologic therapy was used for these YO patients. The pooled progression-free survival analysis results for first-line noncurative treatment favored LO (HR, 1.96; 95% CI, 1.04-3.68). The mortality analysis showed no significant differences between the 2 groups (YO: HR, 1.53; 95% CI, 0.91-2.58).

Conclusion: Despite similar treatment patterns and survival outcomes, YO disease might be clinically more aggressive.

Keywords: Adolescent and young adults; Metastatic colorectal cancer; Real world; Treatment pattern; Young-onset CRC.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types

MeSH terms