Challenges around diagnosis of early onset colorectal cancer, and the case for screening.

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most diagnosed cancer in the world, with an estimated 1.93 million cases diagnosed in 2020. While the overall CRC incidence in many countries is falling there has been a dramatic increase in CRC in those aged under 50 (early onset colorectal cancer, EOCRC).

Do treatment patterns differ in those with early-onset colorectal cancer?

Background: The incidence of early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) is increasing. International guidelines state that treatment should not differ from that of older patients. Several studies have shown that patients under 50 years are receiving more aggressive treatment, without any survival benefit.

Comparing outcomes and cost in surgery versus watch & wait surveillance of patients with rectal cancer post neoadjuvant long course chemoradiotherapy.

Background: Watch and wait (W&W) in complete clinical responders after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy has increasingly robust data supporting its oncological safety. Recently, studies have assessed the real-world costs of this strategy compared to surgical resection. Our aim was to compare our oncological safety and costs associated with operative and surveillance strategies to international literature.

Influence of the type of anatomic resection on anastomotic leak after surgery for colon cancer.

Introduction: Anastomotic leak (AL) after colon cancer resection is feared by surgeons because of its associated morbidity and mortality. Considerable research has been directed at predictive factors for AL, but not the anatomic type of colonic resection. Anecdotally, certain types of resection are associated with higher leak rates although there remains a paucity of data on this.

Incidence and risk factors for unplanned readmission after colorectal surgery: A meta-analysis.

Background: Unplanned readmissions (URs) after colorectal surgery (CRS) are common, expensive, and result from failure to progress in postoperative recovery. These are considered preventable, although the true extent is yet to be defined. In addition, their successful prediction remains elusive due to significant heterogeneity in this field of research.

Detection of Chitinase 3-Like 1 in Symptomatic Primary Care Patient Faecal Samples is Not a Reliable Biomarker of Colonic Lesions.

Background: The current gold standard non-invasive test for detecting pre-cancerous changes is the faecal immunochemical test (FIT). However, this test can lack sensitivity and specificity and testing for another biomarker may address these limitations. Chitinase 3-like 1 (CHI3L1) is emerging as a potential biomarker of inflammation-associated carcinogenic changes in epithelial cells.