Colorectal carcinoma in young adults: a retrospective study on Indian patients: 2000-2008

Aim To highlight an increased incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) amongst young Indian adults. Method A retrospective study of 305 cases of CRC admitted to SSKM Hospital, Kolkata, India during 2000-2008 was carried out. Results The ratio (0.64) of under-40 to above-40 CRC patients reported in this study is comparable to those from premier Oncology Centers in India (similar to 0.52) and is higher than those in the Indian National Cancer Registry (similar to 0.20) and international average (0.07). Distinctive tumour characteristics in younger patients including left-sided lesion (69.7%), presentation at an advanced (III/IV) stage (60%), poor histological differentiation (50%) and predominance of mucin-secreting adenocarcinoma (80%) are similar to those reported in the international literature. Some features are suggestive of hereditary non polyposis colorectal cancer syndrome, which may be a possible reason for the high proportion of young CRC patients. Conclusion A high index of suspicion for CRC among young Indian adults is necessary.