Rise in incidence of early-onset colorectal cancer in the Netherlands: cause for concern?

Scritto il 01/05/2025
da Marloes A G Elferink

Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd. 2025 Apr 24;169:D8459.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To describe trends in incidence of early-onset colorectal cancer in the Netherlands.

DESIGN: Observational research.

METHOD: We selected colorectal cancer patients aged 15 to 49 years, diagnosed between 1989-2023, from the Netherlands Cancer Registry (NCR). We calculated incidence rates and determined changes in trends using Joinpoint regression analyses. Furthermore, we made a prediction of the number of early-onset colorectal cancer patients in 2035.

RESULTS: The number of new early-onset colorectal cancer patients has increased; from 6.3 per 100,000 in 1998 to 9.3 per 100,000 in 2023 (Annual Percentage Change 1.41% (95% confidence interval 1.18-1.71)). This incidence is expected to increase further in the future, reaching between 629 and 871 cases by 2035.

CONCLUSION: There is an increase in the incidence of early-onset colorectal cancer in the Netherlands which appears to persist over the next 10 years. Further research is needed to identify the causes of this increase.

PMID:40310280