Editorial
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2017. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jul 28, 2017; 23(28): 5041-5044
Published online Jul 28, 2017. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v23.i28.5041
Colorectal cancer in young adults: A difficult challenge
Fábio Guilherme Campos
Fábio Guilherme Campos, Division of Colorectal Surgery, Department of Gastroenterology, Hospital das Clínicas, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP 01411000, Brazil
Author contributions: Campos FG contributed to the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflicts of interest to report.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Dr. Fábio Guilherme Campos, Professor, Division of Colorectal Surgery, Department of Gastroenterology, Hospital das Clínicas, University of São Paulo, Rua Padre João Manoel, 222, Cj 120, Cerqueira César, São Paulo, SP 01411000, Brazil. fgmcampos@terra.com.br
Telephone: +55-11-30610108 Fax: +55-11-30610108
Received: March 21, 2017
Peer-review started: March 22, 2017
First decision: April 20, 2017
Revised: June 7, 2017
Accepted: July 12, 2017
Article in press: July 12, 2017
Published online: July 28, 2017
Processing time: 128 Days and 9.1 Hours
Abstract

Sporadic colorectal cancer (CRC) is traditionally diagnosed after the sixth decade of life, and current recommendations for surveillance include only patients older than 50 years of age. However, an increasing incidence of CRC in patients less than 40 years of age has been reported. This occurrence has been attributed to different molecular features and low suspicion of CRC in young symptomatic individuals. When confronting young-onset CRC with older patients, issues such as biological aggressiveness, stage at diagnosis and clinical outcomes seem to differ in many aspects. In the future, the identification of the molecular profile underlying the early development of sporadic CRC will help to plan tailored screening recommendations and improve management. Besides that, differential diagnosis with CRC linked with hereditary syndromes is necessary to provide adequate patient treatment and family screening. Until we find the answers to some of these doubts, doctors should raise suspicion when evaluating an young adult and be aware of this risk and consequences of a late diagnosis.

Keywords: Colorectal cancer; Young age; Hereditary; Prognosis

Core tip: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is traditionally considered a disease affecting people with more than 50 years of age. However, numerous researches have detected a rising incidence of CRC in young people, mainly rectal cancer. This finding raises the need for increasing clinical suspicion when evaluating symptoms of a young patient. Furthermore, these groups of patients must be aware of this possibility.