Comparison of early-onset and average-onset colorectal cancers

The causative factors for the recent increase in incidence of early-onset colorectal cancer (EO-CRC; befor age 50 years) are unknown. A study at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (New York, NY) compared EO-CRCs with average onset (AO)-CRCs. EO-CRCs were more commonly left-sided and presented more commonly with rectal bleeding and abdominal pain, but were otherwise clinically and genomically indistinguishable from AO-CRCs. Aggressive treatment regimens based solely on the age at CRC diagnosis are not warranted.