Early-onset GI cancer trends

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute published two literature reviews that highlight incidence trends of early-onset gastrointestinal (GI) cancers, according to a release.

Key findings:

• Incidence of early-onset GI cancers is jumping quicker than all other early-onset cancers.
• Colorectal cancer still has the highest incidence rate, but other GI cancers like gastric, esophageal, and pancreatic are becoming more common.
• Even though guidelines advise adults to start screening at 45, under 20% of U.S. adults aged 45 to 49 underwent a colorectal cancer screening in 2021.
• From 2010-2019, new diagnoses of early-onset GI cancers jumped nearly 15%.
• People who were born in the year 1990 “are twice as likely to develop colon cancer and four times as likely to develop rectal cancer compared to those born in 1950, according to the authors.”
• More adolescents and young adults are being diagnosed with colorectal cancer. 

The authors also highlight risk factors connected to early-onset GI cancers and treatment options. They emphasize the need for more research pinpointing why diagnoses are rising in younger people.

You can read the literature reviews in the British Journal of Surgery and in JAMA.