Clinical presentations of colorectal carcinoma in patients below 40 years of age presenting to a tertiary care level hospital

Objective: the objective of our study was to assess the clinical presentation of colorectal carcinoma in patients below forty years of age presenting to a tertiary care level hospital. material and methods: this descriptive cross sectional study was done at surgical department,khyber teaching hospital,peshawar,from january 2007 to june 2007. fifty patients younger than 40 years of age with colorectal cancer were included in the study. results: there was a total of 50 patients,66% males and 34% females. the commonest affected age group was 31-35 years old (46%). the commonest presenting feature was altered bowel habits (86%). anemia was present in 72% patients. digital rectal examination detected the growth in 36% patients. proctoscopy findings were conclusive in 64% cases. left sided tumors were found in 70% patients,in 30% cases,right sided tumors were found. conclusion: altered bowl habit should be further investigated even in younger patients as it frequently is associated with colorectal carcinoma.