Colo-Rectal Carcinoma in Young Adults

A study of 25 young adults under the age of 29 treated by surgeryfor carcinoma of the large intestine was made to compare with693 older-age group of patients. The incidence of adenocarcinomaof the large intestine in the first thirty years of life was3.5%. At the time of surgery, 64% of the patients had metastaticdisease, and the five-year survival rate for 19 curatively treatedcases was 37%. The coincidental second and third carcinoma ofthe large intestine and the association of familial polyposiscoli were significantly frequent in the younger age group. Onthe other hand, the association of ulcerative colitis or Crohn'sdisease could not be found in either of the group. The highincidence of mucin-producing tumors in the younger group wasalso confirmed. The Cumulative No Evidence of Disease (NED)rate after the curative surgery was lowest among patients ofthe first-three-decade age group and showed; stepwise high valueas the decade of age increased.