GI cancer rates rise in young adults: 5 things to know

Of all early-onset cancers in the U.S., gastrointestinal cancers are increasing most rapidly, according to a review published July 17 in JAMA. 

Defined as occurring in patients under the age of 50, early-onset gastrointestinal cancers include colorectal, gastric, esophageal and pancreatic cancers. 

For the review, researchers from Boston-based Dana-Farber Cancer Institute analyzed the incidence, risk factors and treatment approaches associated with early-onset gastrointestinal cancers.

Here are five things to know:

1. More than half (54.3%) of all early-onset gastrointestinal cancers reported globally in 2022 were colorectal cancer.
   
   Gastric cancers made up 23.8% of global early-onset gastrointestinal cancer cases in 2022, followed by esophageal cancer at 13.2% and pancreatic cancer at 8.6%.
   
   
2. Between 2010 and 2019, the age-standardized incidence rate of early-onset gastrointestinal cancers in the U.S. increased by 2.16% per year.
   
   In 2022, 20,805 individuals in the U.S. were diagnosed with early-onset colorectal cancer, followed by 2,689 individuals diagnosed with early-onset gastric cancer, 2,657 with early-onset pancreatic cancer and 875 with early-onset esophageal cancer.
   
   
3. Most early-onset gastrointestinal cancers are associated with modifiable risk factors, though about 15% to 30% of cases can be attributed to genetics or hereditary syndromes.
   
   
4. While treatment of early-onset gastrointestinal cancers is similar to later-onset cancers, early-onset patients typically receive more aggressive treatment and have a similar or shorter survival rate.
   
   
5. “The rising incidence of early-onset gastrointestinal cancers is alarming and underscores the need for enhanced prevention strategies and early detection methods,” Kimmie Ng, MD, senior author of the review and director of Dana-Farber’s Young-Onset Colorectal Cancer Center, said in a July 17 news release from the institute. 

Read the full review here.