Presenting Symptoms of Colorectal Cancer in a Tertiary University Hospital in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Abstract Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the most common cancer among Saudi males with age standardized rate (SAR) of 12.9 and 12.5/100,000 in 2016 and 2017, respectively, and the third most common cancer among Saudi females with (SAR) of 9.5 and 10.9/100,000 in 2016 and 2017, respectively. Aim: The aim of this study is to identify the presenting symptoms of CRC in our population and to improve our ability to diagnose it and treat it as early as possible. Materials and Methods: In this retrospective analysis, the medical records of all patients diagnosed with CRC in King Khalid University Hospital during 2016 and 2017 (n = 266), were reviewed. Results: The median age at diagnosis was 59 years (standard deviation = 13.6), 52 (22%) of those patients were younger than 50 years old, and 20 (9.9%) were younger than 40 years old. 137 (58%) of them are males. The most common presenting symptoms were abdominal pain (n = 115, 54.8%), weight loss (n = 96, 45.7%), and hematochezia (n = 88, 41.9), For more than half of the patients, bleeding per rectum was not reported, and for the majority of the patients younger than 50 years old, only (n = 24, 49%) presented with bleeding per rectum, abdominal pain (n = 32, 65.3%) and weight loss (n = 21, 42.9%). 87 patients (48%) had stage III tumor at presentation while 44 (24%) had stage IV. Conclusion: diagnosis of CRC should have a high index of suspicion to diagnose it at an earlier stage and have a better outcome, especially in the younger population.