Rectal neuroendocrine tumor incidence ‘rapidly increasing’ in young adults, warrants study
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CHICAGO — Incidence of rectal neuroendocrine tumors has increased in younger adults compared with older adults over the past 20 years, mostly driven by a rise in younger women, according to research presented at Digestive Disease Week.
“Rectal neuroendocrine tumors are heterogenous neoplasms of neuroendocrine cells in the rectum that can secrete bioactive peptides,” Yazan Abboud, MD, an internal medicine resident at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, told Healio. “Previous data showed an increasing incidence of neuroendocrine tumors in several parts of the gastrointestinal tract, including the rectum. However, the previous study only covered 13.4% of the U.S. population and it lacked comparative analysis of age-specific trends.”
Using the United States Cancer Statistics database, Abboud and colleagues conducted a time-trend analysis of rectal neuroendocrine tumor (RNET) incidence rates over the past two decades. They adjusted incidence rates by sex and age (older adults 55 years, younger adults aged 15-54 years) and reported time-trends as annual percent change (APC) and average APC (AAPC).
“Our nationwide study evaluating nearly 98% of the U.S. population shows a rapidly increasing trend of RNET incidence in younger adults aged less than 55 years at a significantly greater rate compared to older adults aged 55 years or older,” Abboud said. “When categorizing the U.S. population by race, we found that this rise in incidence was mostly driven by younger women.”
Results demonstrated 53,188 RNET diagnoses in the U.S. between 2001 and 2018, with increased rates among younger but not older adults (AAPC = 4.52 vs. 1.3; AAPC difference = 3.17). Researchers observed similar results in men (n = 26,438) with an absolute AAPC difference of 3.03 among younger vs. older adults. While analysis yielded similar results in women (n = 26,738), a greater AAPC difference of 4.21 was reported between younger and older adults.
“In light of the growing body of literature showing increasing incidence of gastrointestinal cancers in younger adults in the U.S. such as colorectal cancer, gastric cancer and pancreatic cancer, we hope that our current findings of increasing incidence of RNET in younger adults help to guide health care policies toward further investigations of this topic,” Abboud said. “The exact cause of the revealed trend among younger adults is unclear and may be driven by age-based disproportional exposure or response to known or yet-to-be-known risk factors.
“Future studies are warranted to investigate the characteristics and outcomes of rectal neuroendocrine tumors in younger adults. Further research is also needed to elucidate the causes and identify risk factors associated with the revealed trend.”
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Abboud Y, et al. Abstract 116: Increasing incidence of rectal neuroendocrine tumors in younger adults: A population-based time-trend analysis using the Unites States Cancer Statistics (USCS) database 2001-2018. Presented at: Digestive Disease Week; May 6-9, 2023; Chicago (hybrid).
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