Childhood Colorectal Cancer Treatment (PDQ®): Treatment - Health Professional Information [NCI]

Incidence

Carcinoma of the large bowel is rare in children and adolescents.[1] Colorectal cancer is seen in 0.5 cases per 100,000 people younger than 20 years in the United States annually.[2] Fewer than 100 cases are diagnosed in children each year in the United States.[3] From 1973 to 2006, the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program database recorded 174 cases of colorectal cancer in patients younger than 19 years.[4]

Colorectal carcinoma accounts for about 5% of all malignancies in people aged 15 to 29 years.[2] An analysis of SEER data identified 5,350 adolescents and young adults between the ages of 15 and 39 years with colorectal cancer from 2010 to 2015.[5]

References:

1. da Costa Vieira RA, Tramonte MS, Lopes LF: Colorectal carcinoma in the first decade of life: a systematic review. Int J Colorectal Dis 30 (8): 1001-6, 2015.
2. Surveillance Research Program, National Cancer Institute: SEER*Explorer: An interactive website for SEER cancer statistics. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute. Available online. Last accessed September 5, 2024.
3. Saab R, Furman WL: Epidemiology and management options for colorectal cancer in children. Paediatr Drugs 10 (3): 177-92, 2008.
4. Ferrari A, Casanova M, Massimino M, et al.: Peculiar features and tailored management of adult cancers occurring in pediatric age. Expert Rev Anticancer Ther 10 (11): 1837-51, 2010.
5. Holowatyj AN, Lewis MA, Pannier ST, et al.: Clinicopathologic and Racial/Ethnic Differences of Colorectal Cancer Among Adolescents and Young Adults. Clin Transl Gastroenterol 10 (7): e00059, 2019.