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. 2021 Mar 30:11:647179.
doi: 10.3389/fonc.2021.647179. eCollection 2021.

Causes of Death After Colorectal Cancer Diagnosis: A Population-Based Study

Yuqian Feng  1 , Huimin Jin  1 , Kaibo Guo  1 , Harpreet S Wasan  2 , Shanming Ruan  3 , Cihui Chen  3
Affiliations

Causes of Death After Colorectal Cancer Diagnosis: A Population-Based Study

Yuqian Feng et al. Front Oncol. .

Abstract

Background: Non-cancer causes of death in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) have not received much attention until now. The purpose of the current study is to investigate the non-cancer causes of death in patients with CRC at different periods of latency. Methods: Eligible patients with CRC were included from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database, and standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) were calculated using the SEER*Stat software 8.3.8. Results: A total of 475,771 patients with CRC were included, of whom 230,841 patients died during the follow-up period. Within 5 years, CRC was the leading cause of death. Over time, non-cancer causes of death account for an increasing proportion. When followed up for more than 10 years, non-cancer deaths accounted for 71.9% of all deaths worldwide. Cardiovascular diseases were the most common causes of non-cancer deaths, accounting for 15.4% of the total mortality. Patients had a significantly higher risk of death from septicemia within the first year after diagnosis compared with the general population (SMR, 3.39; 95% CI, 3.11-3.69). Within 5-10 years after CRC diagnosis, patients had a significantly higher risk of death from diabetes mellitus (SMR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.19-1.36). During the course of more than 10 years, patients with CRC had a significantly higher risk of death from atherosclerosis (SMR 1.47; 95% CI, 1.11-1.9). Conclusions: Although CRC has always been the leading cause of death in patients with CRC, non-cancer causes of death should not be ignored. For patients with cancer, we should not only focus on anti-tumor therapies but also pay attention to the occurrence of other risks to prevent and manage them in advance.

Keywords: and End Results database; cardiovascular disease; colorectal cancer; epidemiology; non-cancer deaths; standardized mortality ratios; surveillance.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Causes of death in each latency period following CRC diagnosis.
Figure 2
Figure 2
SMRs of cardiovascular disease at different latency periods (A); SMRs of cardiovascular disease at different age (B).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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