Colorectal cancer in Guangdong Province of China: a demographic and anatomic survey.

Aim: To determine the basic demographic features of colorectal cancer (CRC) in five hospitals located in four different areas of Guangdong Province, China.

Methods: A review of patient records from 1986 to 2006 from five hospitals was conducted. Patient data was obtained, including age, gender, location of lesions, staging and histological type of CRC. The Chi-square test was used to assess differences in rates and a significance level of 0.05 was used. Univariate comparisons were made via Fisher's exact tests.

Results: Analysis was carried out on 8172 CRC patents, 6.1% (499/8172) of the patients were aged < or = 30 years. The peak incidence was between the ages 61-70 years (27.8%). The mean age at CRC diagnosis increased from 52 years (1986-1988) to 60 years (2004-2006) and the proportion of young CRC patients decreased from 8.0% to 5.9% over the same period. Of 8172 lesions, 4434 (54.3%) were located in rectum and 3738 (45.7%) in colon. The incidence of rectal cancer decreased significantly from 59.4% (1989-1991) to 51.8% (2004-2006) and right sided colon cancer increased from 40.6% to 48.2%. The mean age, anatomic distribution, histological type and differentiation degree were significantly different among the four geographical areas (P < 0.05).

Conclusion: The hospitalization rate for CRC has increased in Guangdong in recent years. The characteristics of CRC from the five hospitals located in the four different areas of Guangdong Province are also different. Further studies are needed to assess more recent trend in the incidence and prevalence of CRC as well as the respective roles of genetic and environmental factors in CRC.