Temporal trends in the leading causes of death among a large national cohort of patients with colorectal cancer from 1975 to 2009 in the United States.

PURPOSE

To assess the distribution of proportion of deaths from causes other than colorectal cancer (CRC) over time and temporal trends of cause-specific cumulative incidence of death due to six leading causes in patients with CRC.

METHODS

Overall, 375,462 patients with CRC in nine Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results registries from 1975 to 2009 were included. Competing risks proportional hazards regression was used to examine the effect of diagnostic periods on the risk of cause-specific death.

RESULTS

From 1975 to 2009 by 5-year interval, the proportion of deaths from causes other than CRC increased significantly with diagnostic periods according to the lengths of follow-up (P < .0001). The 5-year risk of death significantly decreased with diagnostic periods for all-cause, CRC, and circulation diseases among all age groups (<65, 65-74, and ≥75 years) but increased for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, and Alzheimer disease among patients aged 65 years or older.

CONCLUSIONS

Deaths due to causes other than CRC increased significantly over time regardless of tumor stage and site but more sharply in those with early-stage and distal colon cancer. The increasing leading causes of death are chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, and Alzheimer disease, which may be prevented or delayed substantially by modification or intervention in lifestyle or other factors.