Colon cancer is more likely to be lethal in children and young adults than middle-aged adults. In a single-institution study, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Tex., found that differences in mortality rates persist regardless of whether pediatric, adolescent, and young adult patients (aged 24 and younger) were born with a predisposition for colon abnormalities or disease and for the first time conclude that young people are more likely to have metastases outside the colon, into the abdominal cavity, when they are diagnosed. Their findings put families, clinicians, and surgeons on alert to be sure abdominal complaints in young people are thoroughly and carefully evaluated when first reported, and aggressively treated if cancer is discovered. Study findings appears in an “article in press” on the Journal of the American College of Surgeons website in advance of print.
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