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. 2021 Jul 7;27(25):3901-3912.
doi: 10.3748/wjg.v27.i25.3901.

Clinical characteristics of patients in their forties who underwent surgical resection for colorectal cancer in Korea

Chang Sin Lee  1 , Se-Jin Baek  2 , Jung-Myun Kwak  1 , Jin Kim  1 , Seon-Hahn Kim  1
Affiliations

Clinical characteristics of patients in their forties who underwent surgical resection for colorectal cancer in Korea

Chang Sin Lee et al. World J Gastroenterol. .

Abstract

Background: The proportion of young patients with colorectal cancer (CRC), especially in their 40s, is increasing worldwide.

Aim: To confirm the clinical characteristics of such patients, we planned a study comparing them to patients in their 30s and 50s.

Methods: Patients undergoing primary resection for CRC, patients in their 30s, 40s and 50s were included in the study. Patient and tumor characteristics, and perioperative and oncologic outcomes were compared.

Results: Most clinical characteristics of 451 (10.5%) patients in their 40s were more similar to those of patients in their 30s than those in their 50s. On pathology data, there were more metastatic lesions (30s vs 40s vs 50s; 17.5% vs 21.1% vs 14.9%, P = 0.012) in patients in their 40s. There was a trend toward less frequent K-ras mutations among patients in their 40s (48.5% vs 33.3% vs 44.5%, P = 0.064). The proportion of patients receiving postoperative chemotherapy was also significantly greater among patients in their 40s (58.3% vs 63.9% vs 56.3%, P = 0.032). Five-year overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) did not differ between the three groups (5-year OS, 92.2% vs 89.8% vs 92.2%, P = 0.804; 5-year total DFS, 98.6% vs 95.7% vs 96.1%, P = 0.754; 5-year local DFS, 98.6% vs 94.3% vs 94.9%, P = 0.579; 5-year systemic DFS, 86.4% vs 87.9 % vs 86.4%, P = 0.908).

Conclusion: Patients with CRC in their 40s showed significantly more numerous metastatic lesions. The oncologic outcome of stage 1-3 patients in their 40s was not inferior compared to that of those in their 30s and 50s.

Keywords: Colorectal neoplasm; Hereditary cancer; Screening; Sporadic cancer; Young age.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict-of-interest statement: There are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Changes in the proportion of colorectal cancer patients in their 40s by year.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparison of 5-year overall survival, disease-free survival (total, local, and systemic) in stage 1-3 patients in their 30s, 40s and 50s with colorectal cancer. A: 5-year overall survival; B: Disease-free survival (total); C: Disease-free survival (local); D: Disease-free survival (systemic). OS: overall survival; DFS: disease-free survival.
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