Lights and shadows in the early-onset colorectal cancer management and research: An integrative perspective – Physician scientist with patient advocates

Practice points

-The global importance that Early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) is acquiring, makes a joint and worldwide effort necessary to unravel the problem.
-Although most EOCRC cases seem to be sporadic, there is still an important proportion belonging to families with well-defined colorectal cancer predisposition syndromes.
–Excluding hereditary syndromes, general population screening strategies don’t cover most cases in the majority of countries, except in some defined ones with first-degree relatives with colorectal cancer.
-At present, the management of EOCRC should be considered a lifelong process: from the early care of symptoms to avoiding delays in diagnosis; through a multidisciplinary treatment in both the present and future; and with considerations for the possible consequences in the short and long term.
-The participation of patients in each step of the process, as well as in the awareness of the problem is especially critical in EOCRC.