| AimAn appropriate cutoff of age and the impact of age on colorectal cancer outcomes remain unclear and need to be explored, particularly in China.MethodsIn total,2460colorectal cancer patients were studied retrospectively. All patients were divided into six groups according to their ages at the time of diagnosis:under30years old,31-35years old,36-40years old,41-45years old,46-50years old and older than50years. A suitable cutoff age for defining young adult colorectal cancer was explored according to the distribution of survival in each group. Clinical characteristics and prognosis between the young adult group and the older group were then compared.ResultsAccording to the survival curves for each group,35years old was considered a suitable cutoff age for defining young adult colorectal cancer. There were140(5.7%) and2320(94.3%) cases in the young adult and older groups, respectively. The proportion of stage â…¢-â…£ tumors was significantly higher in the young adult group (69.3%) than in the older group (46.4%)(p=0.000). The univariate analysis showed that the5-year overall survival rate and the10-year overall survival rate in the young adult group were48.9%and38.6%, respectively, while in the older group, they were63.6% and56.9%, respectively. The young adult group had a worse prognosis (p=0.000). The multivariate analysis showed that age was not an independent prognostic factor (Relative Risk0.787, p=0.062). After adjusting for tumor stage, the hazard proportion of death in the young adult group increased by27.6%, but this difference was not significant (p=0.053). Stratified analyses showed that the young adults with stage IV tumors had a worse survival rate (p=0.046).ConclusionPatients under35years old who were diagnosed with colorectal cancer had a worse prognosis due to a higher proportion of advanced stage tumors. When stage-to-stage analysis was performed, it was found that young adult colorectal cancer patients had a worse outcome only if they had stage IV tumors. |
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