On October 27, 2020, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force issued a recommendation that colorectal cancer screening of individuals at average risk for the disease start at age 45 rather than age 50. “This recommendation is hugely impactful,” said OPTIMISTICC Co-Investigator Dr. Kimmie Ng, Director of The Young-Onset Colorectal Cancer Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, “and will change standard of care in preventive medicine and lead to insurance coverage of screening for people starting at age 45. Undoubtedly, more cancers will be prevented and/or caught at an earlier stage, and more lives will be saved.” She added that “research must continue into what the underlying causes of young-onset colorectal cancer are, as this new guideline will not benefit the many patients who are diagnosed younger than 45.” The full text of the recommendation can be found here, on the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force website.
Kimmie Ng and Marios Giannakis publish a perspective “A Common Cancer at an Uncommon Age”
By 2030 colorectal cancer will be the leading cause of cancer deaths in individuals aged 20-49. Young-onset CRC differs from average age onset. Young-onset disease is often more aggressive, presents on the left side of the colon rather than the right, and often...
