Early-onset colorectal cancer demands a new research playbook

Early-onset colorectal cancer demands a new research playbook

Colorectal cancer is no longer a disease confined to older adults.  Across the U.S. and in my own practice at City of Hope, we are seeing a steady rise in patients diagnosed in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. Nationally, tens of thousands of people under age 50 are diagnosed each year, nearly double the proportion seen two decades ago.  Many of these younger patients arrive with advanced disease, often after months of symptoms that were dismissed or mi…