Symptom Burden and Time from Symptom Onset to Cancer Diagnosis in Patients with Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer: A Multicenter Retrospective Analysis.

Background: The incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) is decreasing in individuals >50 years due to organised screening but has increased for younger individuals. We characterized symptoms and their timing before diagnosis in young individuals. Methods: We identified all patients diagnosed with CRC between 1990-2017 in British Columbia, Canada. Individuals <50 years (n = 2544, EoCRC) and a matched cohort >50 (n = 2570, LoCRC) underwent chart review to identify CRC related symptoms at diagnosis and determine time from symptom onset to diagnosis. Results: Across all stages of CRC, EoCRC presented with significantly more symptoms than LoCRC (Stage 1 mean ± SD: 1.3 ± 0.9 vs. 0.7 ± 0.9, p = 0.0008; Stage 4: 3.3 ± 1.5 vs. 2.3 ± 1.7, p < 0.0001). Greater symptom burden at diagnosis was associated with worse survival in both EoCRC (p < 0.0001) and LoCRC (p < 0.0001). When controlling for cancer stage, both age (HR 0.87, 95% CI 0.8-1.0, p = 0.008) and increasing symptom number were independently associated with worse survival in multivariate models. Conclusions: Patients with EoCRC present with a greater number of symptoms of longer duration than LoCRC; however, time from patient reported symptom onset was not associated with worse outcomes.

Hereditary and Inflammatory Bowel Disease-Related Early Onset Colorectal Cancer Have Unique Characteristics and Clinical Course Compared with Sporadic Disease.

BACKGROUND: Early onset colorectal cancer (EoCRC), diagnosed in those <50 years old, is increasing in incidence. We sought to differentiate characteristics and outcomes of EoCRC in patients with sporadic disease or preexisting conditions. METHODS: We evaluated 2,135 patients with EoCRC in a population-based cohort from the Canadian province of British Columbia. Patients were identified on the basis of presence of hereditary syndromes (n = 146) or inflammatory bowel disease (IBD; n = 87) and compared with patients with sporadic EoCRC (n = 1,902). RESULTS: Proportions of patients with preexisting conditions were highest in the youngest decile of 18-29 (34.3%, P < 0.0001). Patients with sporadic EoCRC were older, more likely female, and had increased BMI (P < 0.05). IBD-related EoCRC had the highest rates of metastatic disease, poor differentiation, adverse histology, lymphovascular, and perineural invasion (P < 0.05). Survival was lower in patients with IBD (HR, 1.80; 95% CI, 1.54-3.13; P < 0.0001) and higher in hereditary EoCRC (HR, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.45-0.73; P < 0.0001) compared with sporadic. Prognosis did not differ between ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease but was lower in those with undifferentiated-IBD (HR, 1.87; 95% CI, 1.01-4.05; P = 0.049). Lynch syndrome EoCRC had improved survival over familial adenomatous polyposis (HR, 0.31; 95% CI, 0.054-0.57; P = 0.0037) and other syndromes (HR, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.11-0.99; P = 0.049). In multivariate analysis controlling for prognostic factors, hereditary EoCRC was unchanged from sporadic; however, IBD-related EoCRC had worse overall survival (HR, 2.21; 95% CI, 1.55-3.16; P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: EoCRC is heterogenous and patients with preexisting conditions have different characteristics and outcomes compared with sporadic disease. IMPACT: Prognostic differences identified here for young patients with colorectal cancer and predisposing conditions may help facilitate treatment planning and patient counseling.See related commentary by Hayes, p. 1775.