title: Racial Differences in Stage IV Colorectal Cancer Survival in Younger and Older Patients.
abstract: African Americans (AAs) compared with European Americans (EAs) have poorer stage-specific survival from colorectal cancer (CRC). Recent reports have indicated that the racial difference in survival has worsened over time, especially among younger patients. To better characterize this association, we used population-based Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results registry data to evaluate the effect of race on stage IV CRC survival in patients aged < 50 and ≥ 50 years.
  
  
  
  The population included 16,782 patients diagnosed with stage IV colon and rectal adenocarcinoma from January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2011. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to evaluate the association between race and other prognostic factors and the risk of death in each age group.
  
  
  
  Younger AAs compared with EAs had a greater prevalence of proximal CRC at diagnosis, a factor associated with a significantly greater risk of death in both races. Among patients < 50 years old, AAs had a greater risk of death compared with EAs (hazard ratio, 1.35; 95% confidence interval, 1.20-1.51), which was attenuated in patients ≥ 50 years of age (hazard ratio, 1.10; 95% confidence interval, 1.04-1.16); P for interaction = .01.
  
  
  
  The results revealed poor overall survival for AAs compared with EAs, especially for those < 50 years of age. The greater prevalence of proximal CRC at diagnosis among younger AAs (vs. EAs) might contribute to the racial difference in survival. Future studies are needed to understand how the colonic location affects the efficacy of treatment regimens.
authors.affiliation: Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC; Department of Public Health Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC. Electronic address: wallack@musc.edu.
authors.forename: Kristin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wallace
authors.affiliation: Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC; Department of Public Health Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC.
authors.forename: Allan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: DeToma
authors.affiliation: Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC; Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC.
authors.forename: David N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Lewin
authors.affiliation: Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC; Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC.
authors.forename: Shaoli
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC.
authors.forename: Don
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rockey
authors.affiliation: Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC; Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC.
authors.forename: Carolyn D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Britten
authors.affiliation: Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC.
authors.forename: Jennifer D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC.
authors.forename: Aissatou
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ba
authors.affiliation: Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC; Department of Public Health Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC.
authors.forename: Anthony J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Alberg
authors.affiliation: Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC; Department of Public Health Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC.
authors.forename: Elizabeth G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Hill
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D018426:SEER Program; D044465:White People; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Colon cancer; Early onset; Metastatic; Race; Survival