title: Despite aggressive histopathology survival is not impaired in young patients with colorectal cancer : CRC in patients under 50 years of age.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Colorectal carcinoma (CRC) is generally a disease of persons older than 50 years. Concerning younger patients, controversies still exist regarding features and prognosis of CRC. We performed this study to characterize CRC in young patients (≤50 years) as well as to evaluate outcome in comparison with older patients (>50 years) with CRC.
  
  
  METHODS
  Clinical and histopathological parameters of 244 patients aged 50 years or less were compared with 1,718 patients aged more than 50 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with older patients, the younger had less adenocarcinomas (82.8% vs. 89.1%; p = 0.004) and less postoperative complications (18.4% vs. 28.7%; p = 0.001), and less Union Internationale Contre le Cancer stage I colon cancers (22.9% vs. 13.6%, p = 0.046) but elevated overall 5-year survival rates for M0 colon and rectal cancers (p = 0.005; p < 0.001). In young patients, the minority suffered from hereditary cancer syndromes (7.4%) and inflammatory bowel diseases (7.0%). Furthermore, up to 40% of young patients denied any cancers in their families. Cancer-related survival rates were significantly elevated in young patients with M0 rectal carcinoma (p = 0.014), whereas in M0 colon cancers, no differences were detectable (p = 0.542). In case of the presence of distant metastases, overall and cancer-related survival rates were similar in old and young patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although young patients present with more aggressive histopathological subtypes and less early stages, cancer-related survival is not less favourable compared with older patients.
authors: Department of Surgery, University Hospital Erlangen, Krankenhausstrasse 12, 91054, Erlangen, Germany. vera.schellerer@uk-erlangen.de
authors: Vera Simone
authors: VS
authors: Schellerer
authors: Susanne
authors: S
authors: Merkel
authors: Silke Christiane
authors: SC
authors: Schumann
authors: Anne
authors: A
authors: Schlabrakowski
authors: Thomas
authors: T
authors: Förtsch
authors: Claus
authors: C
authors: Schildberg
authors: Werner
authors: W
authors: Hohenberger
authors: Roland Siegfried
authors: RS
authors: Croner
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020360:Neoadjuvant Therapy; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011182:Postoperative Care / Q000401:mortality; D012307:Risk Factors; D016019:Survival Analysis; D055815:Young Adult