Dr. Kahn on Rising Incidence in Gastric and CRC in Young Adult Patients

Amir Khan, MD, surgical oncology, City of Hope, discusses the rising incidence of gastric and colorectal cancers in young adult patients.

In this analysis, researchers noted the ethnic and socioeconomic disparities between patients with these cancers. Patients who were younger (18-40 years) were also more likely to be of Hispanic ethnicity. Younger patients were also more likely to be uninsured, of low socioeconomic status, and may present with stage III or IV disease, says Khan.

Younger patients had certain histopathologic features that suggested a more aggressive disease process; this subgroup was more likely to have poorly differentiated tumors and higher-grade tumors, compared with the older population.