S-phase fraction and tumor aneuploidy in colorectal carcinoma of young patients

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Young patients with colorectal carcinomas are considered to have a worse prognosis than older patients. It was the goal of this study to assess if biologic characteristics of tumors in young patients differ from those observed in 2 different groups of patients with the same clinical characteristics but ranging in age either from 41 to 60 years or 61 years and older, respectively. METHODS: Colorectal carcinoma tumor samples were obtained from storage from patients age 40 years and younger and examined for tumor ploidy and S-phase fraction. For each younger patient, a control was selected among patients matched for Dukes stage, site of primary tumor, and sex, with the two age groups. RESULTS: Thirty-one of 1361 patients (2.2%) with colorectal carcinoma treated at our institution between 1984 and 1994 age 40 years or younger. Tumor aneuploidy was present in 3 younger patients, in 5 patients in the 41 to 60 years age group, and in 5 patients in the 61 years and older age group. S-phase fraction was 27.67 +/- 13.62 in patients younger than 40 years, 25.35 +/- 11.6 in the 40 to 61 years age group, and 22.45 +/- 8.48 in the 61 years and older age group. These differences were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: It appears that there are no significant differences in S-phase fraction and tumor aneuploidy in patients younger or older than 40 years, suggesting that colorectal tumors arising in young people do not have different biologic properties.