Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso, TX
Introduction: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most common cause of cancer-related death in men and women. The incidence of CRC has declined, primarily due to screening programs and lifestyle modifications. A disparity in colon cancer screening rates has been recognized between Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites. The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with the incidence of CRC found during screening colonoscopy in asymptomatic individuals in a predominantly Hispanic community on the US-Mexico border.
Methods: We conducted a case-control study in which subjects diagnosed with CRC during their first screening colonoscopy were identified as cases, and randomly selected subjects with normal colonoscopies were matched as a control group (1:1 match). Demographic, clinical, pathological, and endoscopic data of the case and control groups, collected from medical records at our tertiary county hospital from January 2010 to March 2021, were compared between the two groups. Continuous data was described using mean and standard deviation (SD); categorical data as frequency and proportion (%). Chi-square and t-tests were used for statistical comparison as appropriate.
Results: A total of 116 subjects (51% male, 89% Hispanic) diagnosed with CRC on their first screening colonoscopy were identified as cases. The majority of the cancers were left-sided (66%) and were either stage 1 or 2 disease (65%). A randomly selected 116 subjects (51% male; 93% Hispanic) with normal colonoscopy were matched as the control group. The mean age was found to be higher in subjects with CRC (case group) compared to the control group (60.2 vs 58.2, p=0.03). Hyperlipidemia was found to be less frequent in subjects with CRC compared with those with normal colonoscopy (41% vs 59%, p=0.01). Otherwise, there were no statistically significant differences in the variables examined between the CRC and control group (Table 1).
Discussion: In our predominantly Hispanic population, higher age was associated with CRC on screening colonoscopy compared with a control group of patients. Hyperlipidemia was less prevalent in subjects with CRC than those with normal colonoscopies. Whether lifestyle habits or the use of medications, such as statins, contribute to this finding needs further investigation.
