Colorectal cancer is showing up more often in people under 50, and new research from Augusta University finds those younger patients frequently face treatment delays and unequal access to care that can affect their chances of survival.
What’s Happening: Meng-Han Tsai, an assistant professor at the Georgia Prevention Institute at Augusta University, has published research examining colorectal cancer in young adults. Her findings show that race, sex, geography, and financial circumstances can shape a patient’s outcome, sometimes before treatment even begins.
What’s Important: Young adult colorectal cancer patients often wait longer to receive treatment, get less consistent care, and survive at different rates depending on who they are and where they live, according to Tsai’s research.
“Early-onset colorectal cancer is no longer rare,” Tsai said. “What we’re seeing is that social and structural factors play a major role in determining who is diagnosed early, who receives timely treatment and who ultimately survives.”
Catch Up Quick: Colorectal cancer affects the colon or rectum and has long been considered a disease of older adults. Standard screening in the United States generally targets people 45 and older. Rising diagnosis rates among younger adults have drawn increasing attention from researchers and health officials in recent years.
How This Affects Real People: Younger patients are already being diagnosed outside the age range most commonly screened for the disease. Tsai’s research suggests that race, location, and income can further determine how quickly those patients are treated and how likely they are to survive.
The Path Forward: The Georgia Prevention Institute is a research center at Augusta University focused on preventing disease before it occurs. Tsai’s research identifies specific, measurable gaps in care for younger colorectal cancer patients, though no policy or clinical changes have been announced in connection with her findings.
B.T. Clark
B.T. Clark is an award-winning journalist and the Publisher of The Georgia Sun. He has 25 years of experience in journalism and served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta for 15 years and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc. for 8 years. His work has appeared in several newspapers throughout the state including Neighbor Newspapers, The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal. He is a Georgia native and a fifth-generation Georgian.
