Younger people with advanced bowel cancer may have tumours that behave differently from those diagnosed in older patients, according to one of Australia’s largest real-world studies of the disease.
The findings could help doctors tailor treatment more effectively for patients diagnosed before the age of 50, at a time when rates of early-onset bowel cancer are rising.
The study, led by Flinders University and Flinders Medical Centre and published in the Medical Journal of Australia, analysed the records of 1,691 Australians whose bowel cancer had spread to the liver but nowhere else.
Researchers compared patients diagnosed at 50 or younger with those diagnosed later and found important differences in tumour biology, disease characteristics and survival.
The liver is the most common site for bowel cancer to spread, and treating cancer that has reached the liver can present some of the toughest decisions for patients and their doctors.
The findings are particularly significant in Australia, which has one of the highest rates of early-onset bowel cancer in the world. Increasing numbers of people are being diagnosed in their 30s and 40s – often while building careers, raising young families and making plans for the future.