Blacks and Hispanics more likely to have stage 4 early-onset colorectal cancer

Patients with early-onset colorectal cancer (under age 50) are more likely to be Black or Hispanic and to be diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, according to a study of more than one milllion men and women diagnosed between 2004 and 2015.

Black patients with early-onset colorectal cancer had a shorter survival time compared to White patients, even with private insurance and in communities with higher income and education status. Blacks lived on average 9 fewer months than Whites, 33 fewer months than Hispanics, and 46 fewer months than Asian Ameicans with early-onset cancer.

The number of people under age 50 that are diagnosed with colorectal cancer continues to increase for unknown reasons.

See the full text of the scientific paper “Racial disparities negatively impact outcomes in early-onset colorectal cancer independent of socioeconomic status” by Suneel D. Kamath et al.