Contributing factors and short-term surgical outcomes of patients with early-onset rectal cancer

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate patient factors that contribute to increased incidence of early onset rectal cancer and analyze the short-term surgical outcomes of patients undergoing surgery. Methods: A 2-year review (2015–2016) of the ACS-NSQIP included patients with rectal cancer who underwent surgical management. Patients were stratified into early-onset RC (<50-years) and late-onset RC (≥50-years). Results: We included a total of 7538 patients in the analysis. Overall, 14% of the patients had early-onset RC. Patients with early-onset RC were more likely to be Black and Hispanic. Additionally, they were more likely to present with higher TNM stages. Patients with early-onset RC had lower 30-day complications and lower 30-day mortality. There was no difference between the two groups regarding hospital length of stay or 30-day readmission. On regression analysis, there was no difference between the two groups regarding patient outcomes. Conclusions: Racial disparities do exist in the incidence of RC. Young patients tend to have more aggressive disease, however, surgical outcomes between the two groups are comparable.