Global Increasing Incidence of Young-Onset Colorectal Cancer Across 5 Continents: A Joinpoint Regression Analysis of 1,922,167 Cases
Abstract
Background: Colorectal cancer incidence among young adults in the United States is on the rise, but whether this phenomenon is present in other parts of the world is not well documented. This study aims to explore the temporal change of incidence rates for colorectal cancer in various countries across the globe. Methods: We extracted colorectal cancer incidence and population data from 1988 to 2007 based on data from the International Agency for Research on Cancer and compared incidence between age groups. Twelve representative jurisdictions from five continents were selected. Young-onset colorectal cancer cases were defined as those ages <50 years. Joinpoint regression was used to measure the trends of colorectal cancer incidence and to estimate the annual percent change (APC). Results: The APC for those ages <50 years was noted to be increasing at a faster rate as compared with those ages ≥50 years in many regions, including Australia (+1.10% vs. −0.35%), Brazil (+9.20% vs. +5.72%), Canada (+2.60% vs. −0.91%), China–Hong Kong (+1.82% vs. −0.10%), China–Shanghai (+1.13% vs. −2.68%), Japan (+2.63% vs. +0.90%), the United Kingdom (+3.33% vs. +0.77%), and the United States (+1.98% vs. −2.88%). These trends were largely driven by rectal cancer, except in Brazil and the United Kingdom. Conclusions: Increasing incidence of young-onset colorectal cancer was noted in many regions across the globe. Impact: Further studies focusing on young-onset colorectal cancer, particularly with regard to risk factors and establishing the optimal age of screening, are warranted.
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Incidence rates of CRC in patients younger than 50 years old are on the rise.
“incidence rates of CRC in patients <50 years old, referred to as early onset CRC, are on the rise82.”
From Gut OncoMicrobiome Signatures (GOMS) as next-generation biomarkers for cancer immunotherapy (2023) · cites this paper as [82]
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- Authors
- Lui, R. N., Tsoi, K. K. F., Ho, J. M. W., Lo, C. M., Chan, F. C. H., Kyaw, M. H., & Sung, J. J. Y.
- Affiliations
- Chinese University of Hong Kong (HK)
- 3Stanley Ho Big Data Decision Analytics Research Centre, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong.
- Venue
- Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention
- Published
- 2019-08-01
- Volume
- 28
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 1275-1282
- ISSN
- 1055-9965 (ISSN-L)
- 1538-7755
- OpenAlex
- W2946387699
- Cited by
- 153
- References
- 31
- Citations by year
- 2026: 19 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 26 · 2023: 27 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 4
- FWCI
- 6.01
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Rare & Special e-Zone (The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- n/a (na)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Colorectal Cancer Screening and Detection
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Global Cancer Incidence and Screening
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pathology and Forensic Medicine › Genetic factors in colorectal cancer
- Keywords
- early-onset colorectal cancer, colorectal cancer incidence, incidence trends, rectal cancer, age-specific incidence, cross-national comparison, annual percent change
- MeSH terms
- Global Burden of Disease, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Regression Analysis, Risk Factors, Global Health, Colorectal Neoplasms, Incidence, Databases, Factual, Age of Onset
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