Colorectal cancer in young African Americans: clinical characteristics and presentations

PURPOSEColorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer in the USA, and the incidence in young adults has been increasing over the past decade. We studied the clinical characteristics and presentations of CRC in young African American (AA) adults because available data on how age and ethnicity influence its pattern of presentation is limited. PATIENTS AND METHODSWe conducted a retrospective study of 109 young adults (75 African Americans) below 50 years, who were diagnosed with CRC between 1 January 1997 and 31 December 2016. Proximal CRC was defined as lesions proximal to the splenic flexure. Independent t-tests and χ-test or Fisher’s exact test were performed where appropriate to determine the differences between AA and non-AA patients. RESULTSThe mean age at diagnosis was 42 years (range20–49 years). Compared with non-AAs, AAs had more frequent proximal CRC (38.7 vs. 14.7%, P=0.003), lower hemoglobin (10.5 vs. 12.7 g/dl, P