Two week rule referral for patients with colorectal cancer below the age of 50; are we being ageist?
OBJECTIVE
The TWR system was introduced in July 2000. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether patients below the age of 50 years with colorectal cancer (CRC) are experiencing delays in treatment.


METHODS
The CRC database was searched for all newly diagnosed colorectal cancers between January 2001 and December 2005 in patients who were aged less than 50 years.


RESULTS
There were 911 patients with CRC during the study period. Of these, 41 patients (4.5%) were aged under 50. Thirty-eight case notes were retrieved and reviewed; the median age was 47 years. Fourteen (37%) presented as an emergency, 9 (24%) via the TWR, 8 (21%) were non-TWR referrals to outpatients and the remainder were referred via miscellaneous routes. The median time from referral to initial consultation was 11 days (range 8-14 days) in the TWR group, 24 days (range 14-135 days) in the surgical outpatients group and 44 days (range 11-93 days) in the miscellaneous (direct endoscopy, in-hospital physician's referral) group. The median time from referral to initiation of treatment was 51 days (range 15-116 days) in the TWR group, 103 days (range 43-174 days) in the outpatient group and 96 days (range 27-270 days) in the miscellaneous group. Excluding age as a factor, 73% of the non-TWR referrals met the TWR criteria.


CONCLUSIONS
Patients with symptoms of CRC below the age of 50 years may face referral and diagnostic delay if not referred via the TWR system; many of these would be eligible if age was not a deciding factor.
Dept. of Colorectal Surgery GloucestershireRoyal Hospital, Gloucester. jshabbir@aol.com
J
J
Shabbir
V
V
Vijayan
M
M
Silavant
A L
AL
Fowler
T A
TA
Cook
M E
ME
Lucarotti
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000592:standards*; D013222:State Medicine; D013997:Time Factors; D014850:Waiting Lists