FRIDAY, Oct. 2, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Younger patients (younger than 45 years) diagnosed with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) have longer survival compared with older patients, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Surgeons, held from Sept. 26 to 29 in Washington, D.C.
Mary Green, D.O., from the Eastern Virginia Medical School at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, and colleagues examined prognostic factors contributing to the incidence of mCRC in younger patients in a retrospective cohort study using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database for 2000 to 2024. Patients aged 18 years or older with histological confirmation of CRC and metastatic disease at diagnosis were stratified according to age at diagnosis: younger than 45 years and 45 years and older.
Of 50,802 patients, 8.4 and 91.6 percent were younger than 45 years and 45 years and older, respectively. The researchers found that younger patients were more frequently female, of Black or Asian descent, and residents of metropolitan areas. Left-sided colon (47.8 versus 39.8 percent) and rectal tumors (28.4 versus 18.7 percent) occurred more frequently among younger patients. They also had longer median disease-specific survival (32 versus 22 months), with the trend persisting at 10 years (17.81 versus 11.40 percent). Younger age, Asian descent, left-sided colon tumors, and receipt of chemotherapy and radiation were protective prognostic factors.
"Unfortunately, our study shows that 10-year survival remains quite grim for younger patients, which was the most important thing we learned," coauthor Winifred Lo, M.D., also from Old Dominion University, said in a statement.
