About this Research Topic
Early onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC), defined as colorectal cancer diagnosed before 50 years of age is on the rise. We have seen an alarming increase in incidence of EOCRC around the world over the past two decades. A recent systematic review published in BMC Cancer that included 40 studies from 12 countries across five continents showed a worldwide annual percent change in EOCRC incidence of +1.33 that appears to be largely driven by North America and Australia. Due to these global trends, EOCRC has garnered international interest with a recent Delphi initiative statement on international management guidelines for EOCRC (DIRECt) endorsed by four scientific societies. These guidelines cover evidence-based statements regarding diagnosis, risk factors, genetics, pathology, treatment, and supportive care for individuals with EOCRC, but they also highlight areas of controversy within these categories.
As mentioned above, the international guidelines on management of EOCRC identified areas of controversy across multiple areas of diagnosis and management of EOCRC. For example, role of FIT and sigmoidoscopy in the diagnosis of EOCRC, use of risk assessment tools that could incorporate polygenic risk scores, and treatment with adjuvant or neoadjuvant chemotherapy. We would like to use this issue to explore research that addresses current knowledge gaps in diagnosis, risk factors, genetics, and treatment of EOCRC with a special focus on studies that evaluate disparities in EOCRC across these categories and potential ways to mitigate the inequities.
In our collection, we would like to address the following aspects of research on EOCRC:
1. Disparities in diagnosis of EOCRC
2. Disparities in risk factors of EOCRC
3. Differences in genetics of EOCRC by race/ethnicity
4. Disparities in treatment and mortality of EOCRC
The manuscript types we are interested in are original research articles, mini- or systemic reviews, clinical trials, and brief research reports.
Please note: manuscripts consisting solely of bioinformatics or computational analysis of public genomic or transcriptomic databases which are not accompanied by validation (independent cohort or biological validation in vitro or in vivo) are out of scope for this section and will not be accepted as part of this Research Topic.
As mentioned above, the international guidelines on management of EOCRC identified areas of controversy across multiple areas of diagnosis and management of EOCRC. For example, role of FIT and sigmoidoscopy in the diagnosis of EOCRC, use of risk assessment tools that could incorporate polygenic risk scores, and treatment with adjuvant or neoadjuvant chemotherapy. We would like to use this issue to explore research that addresses current knowledge gaps in diagnosis, risk factors, genetics, and treatment of EOCRC with a special focus on studies that evaluate disparities in EOCRC across these categories and potential ways to mitigate the inequities.
In our collection, we would like to address the following aspects of research on EOCRC:
1. Disparities in diagnosis of EOCRC
2. Disparities in risk factors of EOCRC
3. Differences in genetics of EOCRC by race/ethnicity
4. Disparities in treatment and mortality of EOCRC
The manuscript types we are interested in are original research articles, mini- or systemic reviews, clinical trials, and brief research reports.
Please note: manuscripts consisting solely of bioinformatics or computational analysis of public genomic or transcriptomic databases which are not accompanied by validation (independent cohort or biological validation in vitro or in vivo) are out of scope for this section and will not be accepted as part of this Research Topic.
Keywords: Early onset colorectal cancer, disparities, cancer risk factors, cancer genetics, colorectal cancer diagnosis, colorectal cancer mortality, colorectal cancer treatment
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
