Racial disparity trends in clinical presentation and outcomes in colorectal cancer: Findings from an urban university hospital.

518 Background: African Americans (AA) have a higher incidence and lower survival rates from colon and rectal cancer than Caucasian Americans (C). This disparity has been attributed to many factors, including diagnosis at later stage, unfavorable histopathologic features, inadequate treatment, and socioeconomic factors. The multidisciplinary management setting ensures similarity in management and treatment planning. In this study, we assessed the pathological features and evaluated survival outcomes in patients with CRC in AA and CA using a large single institutional database. Methods: We compiled data from 3,826 patients with colon and rectal cancer treated at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital from 1988-2009 and used Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results registry data from 1988-2004 to compare survival rates. Independent variables included age, racial background, site of primary tumor, degree of differentiation, stage at presentation, recurrence-free survival and overall survival rates for colon a...