ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) in "young" patients under 50 years of age is uncommon. There have been conflicting reports regarding both the clinicopathological features of CRC in young patients and prognosis. The aim of this study was to review and compare the clinical characteristics, prognostic factors, and overall survival of patients in three different age groups (40 years and under, 41-50 years, over 50 years of age) and the prognosis of these patients. METHODS: A total of 2,426 consecutive patients who had undergone surgical resection for sporadic colorectal cancer at Singapore General Hospital in the period from 2000 to 2005 were retrieved from a prospectively collected computer database. There were 73 patients (3.0 %) in Group 1 (40 years old or less), 257 (10.6 %) in Group 2 (41-50 years old), and 2,096 (86.4 %) in Group 3 (>50 years old). Clinicopathological features were assessed using univariate analysis to evaluate significant differences, survival curves were constructed using the Kaplan-Meier method, and multivariate analysis was performed to evaluate the independent prognostic factors. RESULTS: Young CRC patients tend to present with a higher incidence of mucinous and signet ring cell tumors (Group 1-20.5 %, Group 2-8.2 %, Group 3-6.2 %, p < 0.001) and have more poorly differentiated tumors (Group 1-20.0 %, Group 2-9.7 %, Group 3-7.4 %, p = 0.014). Furthermore, young CRC patients tend to present with regional lymph node metastases (Group 1-65.7 %, Group 2-60.8 %, Group 3-51.0 %, p = 0.001) and distant metastases (Group 1-31.5 %, Group 2-24.1 %, Group 3-19.4 %, p = 0.006). Multivariate analysis reveals, however, that young age is not an independent prognostic factor for cancer-specific survival (CSS) (p = 0.392). Five-year CSS for Group 1 was 56.6 % (95 % confidence interval (CI) 44.8-68.4 %), Group 2 53.8 % (95 % CI 47.3-60.3 %), and Group 3 61.1 % (95 % CI 58.9-63.3 %). CONCLUSIONS: Although presenting with advanced tumors and with poorer prognostic factors such as presence of mucin and poor histological differentiation, young CRC patients do not have a worse prognosis.
Subject(s)
Adenocarcinoma, Mucinous/secondary , Carcinoma, Signet Ring Cell/secondary , Colonic Neoplasms/pathology , Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/pathology , Rectal Neoplasms/pathology , Adenocarcinoma, Mucinous/mortality , Adenocarcinoma, Mucinous/surgery , Adult , Age Factors , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Carcinoma, Signet Ring Cell/mortality , Carcinoma, Signet Ring Cell/surgery , Colonic Neoplasms/mortality , Colonic Neoplasms/surgery , Female , Humans , Kaplan-Meier Estimate , Lymphatic Metastasis , Male , Middle Aged , Neoplasm Grading , Neoplasm Invasiveness , Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/mortality , Neoplasm Staging , Prognosis , Proportional Hazards Models , Rectal Neoplasms/mortality , Rectal Neoplasms/surgery , Retrospective Studies , Young AdultABSTRACT
An evaluation of a community-based prenatal care program for teens compared 180 adolescent clients with a sample of adolescents matched on age and year of delivery who received care through a traditional prenatal care program at a university medical center. Evaluation criteria describing the process of receiving care were the mean number of prenatal visits, nonscheduled outpatient visits, nonstress tests, ultrasounds, and inpatient days during pregnancy. The two programs were significantly different as measured by these criteria. Outcome criteria included gestational age, birthweight, the percentage of infants requiring neonatal intensive care, and the percentage of clients with maternal complications. A multivariate analysis showed no statistically significant differences in these outcomes. The average cost of resources consumed during prenatal care for the study group was 41% that of controls.
