Breaking Down Barriers to Detection and Care in Early-Age-Onset Colorectal Cancer in Canada - Conference Report

Sep 24, 2026

Uploaded by Aldword

Conference Report on solutions to improve early detection and care for early-age-onset colorectal cancer (EAOCRC) in Canada. The second EAOCRC Symposium (October 2022) built on prior 2021 outputs and highlighted two dominant themes: timely detection and tailored care for EAOCRC patients. Participants emphasized later-stage diagnoses and distinct tumor biology, advocated lowering screening eligibility from 50 to 45, and supported non-invasive approaches such as circulating tumor DNA and biomarker testing. Multidisciplinary care models addressed fertility, family roles, education, careers, and financial responsibilities and were positioned for national treatment-center adoption.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time35 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

1. Introduction

1.1. Symposium Goals

1.2. Symposium Organization

Conference Report Breaking Down Barriers to Detection and Care in Early-Age-Onset Colorectal Cancer in Canada Michael J. Raphael 1,*, Petra Wildgoose 1, Filomena Servidio-Italiano 2, Mary A. De Vera 3, Darren Brenner 4, Monika Slovinec D'Angelo 2, Robin McGee 5, Scott Berry 6, Clarence Wong 7 and Sharlene Gill 8 Citation: Raphael, M.J.; Wildgoose, P.; Servidio-Italiano, F.; De Vera, M.A.; Brenner, D.; D'Angelo, M.S.; McGee, R.; Berry, S.; Wong, C.; Gill, S. Breaking Down Barriers to Detection and Care in Early-Age-Onset Colorectal Cancer in Canada. Curr. Oncol. 2023, 30, 9392–9405. [https://](https://)[ ](https://)[doi.org/10.3390/curroncol30110680](doi.org/10.3390/curroncol30110680) Received: 26 August 2023 Revised: 20 September 2023 Accepted: 28 September 2023 Published: 24 October 2023 Copyright: © 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ([https://](https://)[ ](https://)[creativecommons.org/licenses/by/](creativecommons.org/licenses/by/)[ ](creativecommons.org/licenses/by/)[4.0/](4.0/)) . 1 Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON M4N 3M5, Canada; [petra.wildgoose@sunnybrook.ca](petra.wildgoose@sunnybrook.ca) [2](2 Colorectal Cancer Resource & Action Network)[ Colorectal Cancer Resource & Action Network](2 Colorectal Cancer Resource & Action Network) ([CCRAN](CCRAN)), Toronto, ON M4W 3E2, Canada; ﬁ[lomena.s@ccran.org](lomena.s@ccran.org) (F.S.-I.); [monika.s@ccran.org](monika.s@ccran.org) (M.S.D.) 3 Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3, Canada; [mdevera@mail.ubc.ca](mdevera@mail.ubc.ca) 4 Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada; darren.brenner@ucalgary.ca 5 Independent Researcher, Port Williams, NS, Canada; [robin.mcgee@eastlink.ca](robin.mcgee@eastlink.ca) 6 Department of Oncology, Carlo Fidani Peel Regional Cancer Centre, Mississauga, ON L5M 7S4, Canada; [scott.berry@thp.ca](scott.berry@thp.ca) 7 Division of Gastroenterology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2X8, Canada; [ckw3@ualberta.ca](ckw3@ualberta.ca) 8 Division of Medical Oncology, BC Cancer, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4E6, Canada; sgill@bccancer.bc.ca * [Correspondence: michaelj.raphael@sunnybrook.ca](Correspondence: michaelj.raphael@sunnybrook.ca) Abstract: The second Early-Age-Onset Colorectal Cancer Symposium, convened in October 2022, sought solutions to the barriers to early detection and care for colorectal cancer in Canada. This meeting built on a previous symposium, held in 2021 and reported in this journal. Early-ageonset colorectal cancer (EAOCRC) affects increasing numbers of people under the age of 50 in Canada and throughout the developed world. Two main themes emerged from the meeting: the importance of timely detection, and the need for a tailored approach to the care of EAOCRC. Early detection is crucial, especially in light of the later stage at diagnosis and unique tumour characteristics. Symposium participants were strongly in favour of reducing the age of eligibility for screening from 50 to 45, and promoting the development of non-invasive screening techniques such as testing for circulating tumour DNA and biomarkers. Leading approaches to care were described and discussed, which meet the unique treatment needs of younger CRC patients. Multidisciplinary practices within and outside Canada address such factors as fertility, family roles, education, careers and ﬁnancial responsibilities. These models can be applied in treatment centres across the country. Keywords: early-age-onset colorectal cancer; EAOCRC; EAO-CRC; EO-CRC; colorectal cancer 1. Introduction A symposium on early-age onset colorectal cancer (EAOCRC) patients organized in October 2022 addressed key issues affecting this rapidly growing population in

FAQs

What were the main themes discussed at the October 2022 symposium?

The symposium focused on two themes: the importance of timely detection and the need for a tailored approach to care for early-age-onset colorectal cancer (EAOCRC).

What changes did participants support for colorectal cancer screening eligibility?

Participants strongly favored reducing the age of eligibility for screening from 50 to 45.

Which non-invasive detection approaches were promoted?

Non-invasive screening techniques were promoted, including testing for circulating tumor DNA and other biomarkers.

Sep 24, 2026

Uploaded by Aldword