Colon Cancer in Patients Under 25 Years Old: A Different Disease?

Objective The aim this study was to compare the stage-for-stage overall (OS) and recurrence free (RFS) survival between adult and pediatric/adolescent colon cancer patients. Methods A retrospective review of pediatric/adolescent patients Results The cohort was 94 pediatric patients and 765 adult patients. Overall, the 3-year OS rate for adult and pediatric patients respectively was 90% and 41.92% (95% CI:87%-92%)(p Conclusions Stage-for-stage, pediatric/adolescent patients had shorter 3- and 5-year OS and RFS rates than adult patients. Peritoneal disease and carcinomatosis was significantly higher in pediatric, adolescent and young adult patients less than 25 years. Pre-disposing conditions such as polyposis or congenital colon disease did not contribute to this difference.