Abstract:

Objective

To study the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of young patients with colorectal cancer.

Methods

A total of 1,551 patients with colorectal cancer who underwent radical surgery in the Department of Digestive Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Medical University from December 2010 to December 2020 were included. According to the age, the patients were divided into the young group (≤ 40 years old) and the middle-aged group (55-64 years old). The data were analyzed using SPSS 27.0 software. Enumeration data were expressed as［ cases (%)］, and the χ² test was used; measurement data were expressed as (), and the independent samples t test was performed. Univariate and multivariate analyses of risk factors affecting the prognosis of patients were carried out using the COX regression; the Kaplan-Meier method was used for the comparison of survival curves. P<0.05 was indicated a statistically significant difference.

Results

There were 268 patients (17.3%) in the young group and 1,283 patients (82.7%) in the middle-aged group. There were significant differences in the distribution of tumor location, tumor size, degree of differentiation, T stage, and N stage between the two groups (P<0.05). The number of lymph node dissections in the young group was significantly higher than that in the middle-aged group (P<0.05). The results of the multivariate analysis showed that the primary tumor site, T stage, N stage, intraoperative blood loss, and the number of lymph node dissections were independent prognostic risk factors for patients (P<0.05), and age was not a prognostic risk factor (P>0.05).

Conclusion

There are significant differences in the distribution of clinicopathological characteristics between young patients with colorectal cancer and middle-aged patients with colorectal cancer, but their prognosis is comparable to that of middle-aged patients with colorectal cancer.

Key words: Colorectal Neoplasms, Young Adult, Clinicopathological Features, Prognosis