Abstract 110: Colon Cancer in Patients under 50 in Guatemala: A Retrospective Comparative Cohort Study

• Published in: Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention Vol. 30; no. 7_Supplement; p. 110
• Main Authors: Velarde, Angel, Kihn-Alarcón, Alba, Gay, Hiram, Michalski, Jeff, Ruiz, Edgar, Geoffrey, Hugo, de Falla, Vicky, Figueroa, Javier, Najera, Kirk Douglas, García, Carlos, Ma, Kevin, Salazar, Ana, Zamorano, Abigail, Dávila, Sonia, van Rheenen, Jacaranda
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01-07-2021
• ISSN: 1055-9965; 1538-7755
• DOI: 10.1158/1538-7755.ASGCR21-110

Abstract
Purpose: Describing and comparing clinico-pathological characteristics of younger (<50 years) versus older (≥50 years) colon cancer patients treated at the Guatemalan Liga Nacional Contra el Cáncer e Institute of Cancer (Liga-INCAN).
Methods: This IRB-approved single-institution retrospective cohort study reviewed the medical and pathological records of patients ≥18 years diagnosed with colon cancer at the Liga-INCAN, the largest specialized oncologic hospital in Guatemala, from 2013-2019. Continuous data are presented as mean and standard deviation, categorical data as frequency and percentage. Subjects were categorized into two groups, younger group (<50 years) and older group (≥50 years). Statistical analyses were performed with Chi-squared, Fisher's exact test, and Kruskal-Wallis test.
Results: Among 123 patients, 34.74% were <50 and 65.26% ≥50 years. Most of patients in the younger group were male 68.83% in comparison to the older group where most were female (p<0.01), patients resided in the rural area 60.47% vs 50.0% respectively (p=0.18). BMI index in younger patients was below 25 in 56.1% vs 50.64% (p=0.30). Patients <50 years old were diagnosed at earlier stages (I and II) 39.54% vs 22.5% when compared with ≥50 years old patients (p<0.05), tumors were more common in the left compared to the right colon in younger patients (58.14% vs 50.0%), the difference was not significant (p=0.15). Histopathological features did not show significant differences, most tumors were adenocarcinomas for both groups, but signet ring cell carcinomas were more frequent in the younger than in older patients (9.30% vs 1.25%).
Conclusion: Our findings indicate that Guatemalan patients diagnosed with colon cancer younger than fifty years old are more frequently male and are diagnosed at earlier stages compared to older patients. Although, histopathological characteristics did not show significant differences, further studies are needed to understand how these impact the prognosis of the patients in the different age groups.
Funding: None
Citation Format: Angel Velarde, Alba Kihn-Alarcón, Hiram Gay, Jeff Michalski, Edgar Ruiz, Hugo Geoffrey, Vicky de Falla, Javier Figueroa, Kirk Douglas Najera, Carlos García, Kevin Ma, Ana Salazar, Abigail Zamorano, Sonia Dávila, Jacaranda van Rheenen. Colon Cancer in Patients under 50 in Guatemala: A Retrospective Comparative Cohort Study [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 9th Annual Symposium on Global Cancer Research; Global Cancer Research and Control: Looking Back and Charting a Path Forward; 2021 Mar 10-11. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2021;30(7 Suppl):Abstract nr 110.