Treatment of gastrointestinal (GI) cancers is catching up with other areas of oncology and offering patients better prospects for survival and quality of life, but a significant uptick in early-onset cases is raising new questions about effective prevention, diagnosis and treatment. This was the subject of much discussion at the press conference - moderated by Angela Lamarca, Hospital Universitario Fundacion Jimenez Diaz, Madrid, Spain, ESMO Press Officer - of the ESMO Gastrointestinal Cancers Congress 2024 taking place in Munich, Germany, 26-29 June. Gastrointestinal malignancies account for one in four cancer cases and for one in three cancer-related deaths globally, with colorectal cancer being among the three most common tumor types and causing over 900,000 fatalities each year.
Although the overall incidence of colorectal cancer has been stable or declining in high-income countries annual new cases of early-onset disease, i.e., in individuals below the age of 50, have risen by 51 percent in these regions since the 1990s.
If this trend continues, seemingly associated with a worse prognosis compared to late-onset disease, colorectal cancer could become the deadliest cancer in the 20-49 demographic by 2030. Research being presented in Munich tends to confirm that young GI cancer patients are more likely to be diagnosed at an advanced stage, a possible explanation for the poorer outcomes seen in this age group. Similarly, one study found that pancreatic cancer displays more .
