Clinicopathological attributes and outcomes of treatment in young-onset rectal cancer

Dear Editor: A number of recent epidemiologic studies have highlighted an increase in the occurrence of young-onset rectal cancer, especially in Asian countries [1]. There is no consensus in the published literature on the cutoff age for defining patients with young rectal cancer, which varies from 35 to 50 years in various studies. There are conflicting reports on the survival of young-onset rectal cancer patients in Western countries, with some reports suggesting a poorer outcome for younger patients, while others indicate no difference in the stagespecific oncologic outcomes between the young and older cohorts [2, 3]. In this study, we tried to analyze the relative distribution and the clinicopathological profile of rectal cancer across various age groups, compare the outcomes of treatments between the younger and older patients, and identify a cutoff age for young-onset rectal cancer that may predict a difference in survival.