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

Abstract

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. 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. 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. 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.