Appendiceal cancer (AC) is uncommon, but similar to colorectal cancer, in that a rise in incidence has been observed among young patients (early onset, defined as <50 years of age). Despite this trend, few data are available pertaining to AC survival and the influence of patient demographics and histologic subtype.
The accompanying study published online in Gastroenterology used population data from U.S. cancer registries to compare survival after early-onset AC among different races/ethnicities. Of particular interest, this study also included stratification by histologic subtype. This analysis permits general characterization of AC survival patterns. The authors acknowledge that molecular characteristics may account for some of these survival differences between races/ethnicities, as well as sexes, but also note that access to healthcare, which can also differ by individual racial/ethnic groups, may influence survival rates.
Although the rarity of AC limits the immediate applicability to general clinical practice, the findings of this study highlight multiple areas of promising future research, including insights that may help ultimately aid in determining the cause of the increasing AC burden in younger patients.