ASO Author Reflections: Location of Primary Colorectal Cancer and Risk of Second Primary Malignancy

Excerpt

There has been a rapid evolution in both the epidemiology of colorectal cancer and in our understanding of its biology. Colorectal cancer is now affecting younger patients, and more people with history of colorectal cancer are developing second primary malignancies, particularly of the gastrointestinal tract.1^,2 Furthermore, there appear to be key differences in treatment responsiveness and outcomes based on colorectal tumor location.3 With an expanding population of colorectal cancer survivors who could potentially live longer, risk-adapted surveillance strategies for future cancer are critically important. Hypothesizing that colorectal tumor location modifies second primary gastrointestinal cancer risk, we sought to identity location-based associations with specific second primary gastrointestinal cancers that could be used to tailor surveillance recommendations. …