Outcomes of Young Patients With Rectal Cancer From a Tertiary Cancer Care Centre in India.

BACKGROUND

Carcinoma of the rectum is the fourth most common cancer in the world. The peak age of diagnosis is around the seventh decade. Rectal cancer presenting in those < 35 years old are very peculiar in that they present with adverse histologic features and more advanced stage compared with rectal cancer presenting in older patients.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

We retrospectively evaluated the patient records of young patients with rectal cancer (aged < 35 years) treated in our unit at the All India Institute from 2007 to 2013.

RESULTS

A total of 60 young patients with rectal cancer were registered in our unit during the study period. A family history of cancer was present in 3 patients. The median age at presentation was 27.5 years (range, 15-34 years). The male-to-female ratio was 1.5:1. Of the 60 patients, 52 (86.6%) presented with advanced-stage disease (stage III and IV). Mucinous, signet, papillary, and other poor-risk histologic features were seen in 33 patients (55%). The treatment intention was radical for 50 patients (83.3%). The median follow-up period was 7.3 months. Eighteen patients had documented disease progression. Distant metastasis was the most common type of failure, seen in 14 of 18 patients (77%). The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 1.4 years. The 1- and 3-year PFS rates were 66.5% and 42.0%, respectively. On univariate analysis, the Karnofsky performance status and histologic type were significant prognostic factors for PFS.

CONCLUSION

A greater proportion of poor histologic subtypes was found among young patients with rectal cancer. The high incidence of poor histologic subtypes confers a poor prognosis in these patients.