Early-onset gastrointestinal cancer was a significant global health challenge, particularly for EOCRC and in high Human Development Index countries. These findings may help inform surveillance priorities and hypothesis generation for future etiologic research.

Bray, F. et al. Global cancer statistics 2022: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J. Clin. 74, 229–263 (2024). Sung, H. et al. Colorectal cancer incidence trends in younger versus older adults: an analysis of population-based cancer registry data. Lancet Oncol. 26, 51–63 (2025). This study leveraged high-quality population-based cancer registry data until 2017 to present contemporary trends in EOCRC incidence across 50 countries and territories. Siegel, R. L. et al. Colorectal cancer incidence patterns in the United States, 1974–2013. J. Natl Cancer Inst. 109, djw322 (2017). Siegel, R. L. et al. Global patterns and trends in colorectal cancer incidence in young adults. Gut 68, 2179–2185 (2019). Siegel, R. L., Wagle, N. S., Cercek, A., Smith, R. A. & Jemal, A. Colorectal cancer statistics, 2023. CA Cancer J. Clin. 73, 233–254 (2023). Howren, A. et al. Trends in the incidence of young-onset colorectal cancer with a focus on years approaching screening age: a population-based longitudinal study. J. Natl Cancer Inst. 113, 863–868 (2021). Chambers, A. C. et al. Demographic trends in the incidence of young-onset colorectal cancer: a population-based study. Br. J. Surg. 107, 595–605 (2020). Downham, L. et al. Increase...

The rising incidence of early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC), defined as a diagnosis in adults younger than 50 years, has emerged as a critical global public health challenge.1 While colorectal cance...

Early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) refers to colorectal cancer (CRC) diagnosed in adults younger than 50 years. We conducted this systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate EOCRC incidence, ev...

1. Male sex and Hispanic ethnicity were associated with increased risk of early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC). 2. Among females, higher birthweight and older paternal age were associated with increased EOCRC risk. 3. Among males, having a foreign-born mother was associated with lower EOCRC risk. Evidence Rating Level: 3 (Average) EOCRC is defined as CRC diagnosed

A population-based study linked male sex, Hispanic ethnicity, and select birth and parental factors to increased EOCRC risk.

This study investigates early-onset colorectal cancer, showing male sex, Hispanic ethnicity, high birthweight, and older paternal age increase risk, while

Researchers have long suspected that the gut microbiome – the community of bacteria and other microorganisms living in the intestine – is closely linked to colorectal cancer. In a new study published in Cell Host & Microbe, an international group of researchers from the Mi-EOCRC consortium spanning Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands and including the Zeller and Zimmermann groups at EMBL Heidelberg, have carried out one of the most comprehensive analyses to date of the colorectal cancer-associated gut microbiome. Many studies have reported differences between the microbiomes of people with colorectal cancer and those without the disease. But because these studies were often small and used different sequencing methods, it has been difficult to determine which microbial changes are truly reproducible. Meta-analyses – studies that aggregate data from multiple independent investigations – have attempted to address these reproducibility and consistency questions. However, these had so far been based on only a fraction of the many datasets published to date. Now, by reanalysing data from 27 studies, comprising 6,779 publicly available gut microbiome sequencing profiles, researchers have identified a robust microbial signature associated with colorectal cancer. The study also analysed 906 intestinal tissue samples to compare stool-based microbiome signals with microbes...

Researchers have long suspected that the gut microbiome—the community of bacteria and other microorganisms living in the intestine—is closely linked to colorectal cancer. In a new study published in Cell Host & Microbe, an international group of researchers from the Mi-EOCRC consortium spanning Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands, and including the Zeller and Zimmermann groups at EMBL Heidelberg, has carried out one of the most comprehensive analyses to date of the colorectal cancer-associated gut microbiome.

Early-life exposure to both modifiable and nonmodifiable risk factors may induce chronic low-grade inflammation (CLGI), a silent threat potentially driving the rising incidence of early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC). Notably, CLGI could promote EOCRC by altering the proinflammatory and immune microenvironment that supports tumor growth and cancer development. In this review, we examine how risk factors disrupt immune homeostasis and contribute to CLGI in young individuals, thereby promoting the development of EOCRC. Additionally, identifying CLGI-specific biomarkers could aid in early detection and diagnosis, while targeting specific molecular pathways may enable personalized therapeutic interventions for EOCRC by reducing the chronic inflammatory threat. We also highlight the importance of lifestyle changes and interventions to reduce CLGI and address the growing health concern of EOCRC.

In a groundbreaking study recently published in JAMA Oncology, researchers have uncovered nuanced insights into early age–onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC), challenging conventional perceptions s

The incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) is rising rapidly in people younger than 50 years. Although this increase parallels shifts in lifestyle and environmental factors—collectively termed the exposome—whether these are indeed linked to the development of early-onset CRC (EOCRC) remains uninvestigated. Due to limited exposome data in most cancer cohorts, we constructed weighted methylation risk scores as proxies for exposome exposure to pinpoint specific risk factors associated with EOCRC compared to late-onset CRC (LOCRC) patients diagnosed at ≥70 years. Our analysis confirmed previously identified risk factors, including educational attainment, diet and smoking habits. Moreover, we identified exposure to the herbicide picloram as a new risk factor (adjusted P = 4.4 × 10−4) in the discovery cohort (31 EOCRC versus 100 LOCRC), which was replicated in a meta-analysis comprising nine CRC cohorts (P = 3.1 × 10−3; adjusted P = 1.5 × 10−2; 83 EOCRC versus 272 LOCRC). Subsequently, we anal

In a recent study published in the journal Nature Medicine, researchers conducted a multi-phase investigation to identify potential environmental exposures and lifestyle-related factors associated with unprecedented increases in the prevalence of early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC). The study developed DNA methylation-informed “epigenetic fingerprints” as proxies for measuring colorectal cancer patients’ exposome-related exposure patterns (termed the “exposome”). Comparing the exposomes of young patients (n = 31; age <50 years) with those of older patients (n = 100; age ≥70 years) identified the herbicide “picloram” as a significant new risk factor associated with EOCRC. The study subsequently provided additional support for this association through independent molecular analysis and by using 21 years of US population data. Together, these findings highlight the importance of further investigating targeted environmental health policies to reduce harmful exposures and thereby mitigate future EOCRC incidence. EOCRC Background and Exposome Hypothesis Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a malignancy afflicting the inner lining of the colon (large intestine) or rectum and currently ranks as the second leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. CRC has historically been associated with older age (≥70 years); however, recent decades have witnessed a sudden and inexplicable surge in the prevalence of early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC; CRC in...

For the discovery phase of this study, we utilized colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) samples obtained from TCGA10. The subsequent replication phase was carried out through a meta-analysis, incorporating data from studies on colon cancer (GSE131013, GSE42752, E-MTAB-7036 and GSE199057)11,12,13,14, rectal cancer (TCGA-READ and GSE39958)15 and colorectal cancer (GSE101764, GSE77954 and E-MTAB-3027)16,17,18. Patients were classified as EOCRC (<50 years) or LOCRC (≥70 years). This resulted in a discovery dataset containing 31 EOCRC and 100 LOCRC patients, whereas the replication cohort incorporated 83 EOCRC and 272 LOCRC patients. Population characteristics are presented in Table 1, with a detailed discovery cohort characterization in Supplementary Table 1. Exposome-related DNA methylation marker sets The exposome’s association with EOCRC versus LOCRC was evaluated using 29 lifestyle and environmental factors, which we define here as the exposome, acknowledging its broader scope. The analyzed traits encompassed 11 lifestyle factors: the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), alcohol consumption, birthweight, body mass index (BMI) (continuous variable in kg m−2), cannabis use, coffee consumption, education level, Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS), obesity (defined as ≥30 kg m−2), smoking habits and smoking inference model (smoking-Maas). Furthermore, we examined four air pollution particles: nitrogen dioxide (NO2), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and particulate matter (PM) < 2.5...

An analysis of exposome traits in patients with early-onset colorectal cancer (CRC) (&lt;50 years) compared with late-onset CRC (≥70 years) based on epigenetic markers shows that pesticide usage, in p...

The Christie has launched the UK's first dedicated Early Onset Colorectal Cancer (EOCRC) nursing service

Summary:. Colorectal cancer incidence is rising globally among individuals younger than 50 years and remains poorly explained by established risk factors. In this study, we advance the hypothesis that...

AbstractBackground:. Early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) is rising for reasons not fully explained by genetics. Pediatric antibiotic prescriptions are medically ubiquitous, and nearly 1/3rd of all p...

DiCE joined TRT World’s Roundtable to spotlight rising early-onset colorectal cancer. Featuring clinicians, a survivor, and patient voices, the discussion highlighted survey insights, prevention…