Regional patterns of early-onset colorectal cancer from the GEOCODE (Global Early-Onset COlorectal Cancer DatabasE)-European consortium: retrospective cohort study

April 12, 2025

Publications

>

Article

Sí

Publicated to: BJS OPEN. 9 (2): zraf024- - 2025-03-19 9(2), DOI: 10.1093/bjsopen/zraf024

Authors:

Daca-Alvarez, Maria; Perea, Jose; Corchete, Luis; Spinelli, Antonino; Foppa, Caterina; de Miranda, Noel F C C; Nielsen, Maartje; Palles, Claire; Curley, Helen M; Marti-Gallostra, Marc; Verdaguer, Mireia; Vivas, Alfredo; Lorenzo, Sofia; Latchford, Andrew; Faiz, Omar; Monahan, Kevin; Pawa, Nikhil; Szczepkowski, Marek; Ziolkowski, Bartosz; Tarnowski, Wieslaw; Uryszek, Mariusz; Makkai-Popa, Silviu-Tiberiu; Azagra, Juan S; Llach, Joan; Moreria, Leticia; Pellise, Maria; Holowatyj, Andreana N; Gonzalez-Sarmiento, Rogelio; Balaguer, Francesc

[+]

Affiliations

Bielanski Hosp Warsaw, Clin Dept Colorectal Gen & Oncol Surg, Ctr Postgrad Med Educ Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland - Author

Birmingham City Univ, Dept Canc & Genom Sci, Birmingham, W Midlands, England - Author

Chelsea & Westminster Hosp NHS Fdn Trust, Dept Surg, London, England - Author

Ctr Hosp Luxembourg Eich, Dept Surg, Luxembourg, Luxembourg - Author

Hosp Univ 12 Octubre, Dept Surg, Comunidad Madrid, Madrid, Spain - Author

Hosp Univ Vall dHebron, Dept Surg, Barcelona, Catalunya, Spain - Author

Humanitas Univ, Dept Biomed Sci, Milan, Italy - Author

Imperial Coll, Dept Surg & Canc, London, England - Author

IRCCS Humanitas Res Hosp, Div Colon & Rectal Surg, Milan, Italy - Author

Leiden Univ, Dept Clin Genet, Med Ctr, Leiden, Netherlands - Author

London Northwest Healthcare NHS Trust, Dept Gastroenterol, London, England - Author

Samodzielny Publ Szpital Klin Prof Witolda Orrows, Dept Surg, Warsaw, Poland - Author

Univ Barcelona, Fac Med & Ciencies Salud, Barcelona, Spain - Author

Univ Barcelona, Hosp Clin Barcelona, IDIBAPS, Dept Gastroenterol,CIBEREHD, Barcelona, Spain - Author

Univ Salamanca, SACYL, CSIC,Inst Mol & Cellular Biol Canc IBMCC, Mol Med Unit,Dept Med,Biomed Res Inst Salamanca I, Salamanca, Spain - Author

Vanderbilt Ingram Canc Ctr, Med, Nashville, TN USA - Author

Vanderbilt Univ, Dept Med, Med Ctr, Nashville, TN USA - Author

Vithas Arturo Soria Hosp, Surg Dept, Fdn Vithas, Grp Hosp Vithas, Madrid, Spain - Author

Abstract

Background: The incidence of early-onset colorectal cancer is increasing, but in Europe this growth shows a heterogeneous pattern in different countries and regions. Methods: Patients from six countries who participated in the Global Early-Onset COlorectal Cancer DatabasE (GEOCODE)-Europe group were included. The inclusion criteria were patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma diagnosed between 18 and 49 years of age, between January 2010 and December 2017, with at least 3 years of follow-up. Patients with inherited colorectal cancer syndromes were excluded. Results: A total of 851 patients were included with almost equal sex distribution, most were diagnosed at age 39 years or older and 42% of patients were overweight or obese. Diagnoses were predominantly at later stages (62.5% stage III-IV) and tumours were predominantly located in the distal colon (76.9% left colon and rectum). Comparative analysis between countries demonstrated that the UK had a younger age at diagnosis and the Italian cohort had a higher prevalence of being overweight or obese. Patients from Luxembourg had more advanced stage diagnoses and those from The Netherlands had more polyps. Patients from the UK had a greater family history of colorectal cancer. Comparison of Mediterranean versus non-Mediterranean countries showed significant differences in the age at diagnosis and body mass index. The prevalence of early-onset colorectal cancer over the age of 40 years in Mediterranean versus non-Mediterranean countries was 71.4% versus 62.1% (P = 0.002), and early-onset colorectal cancer was diagnosed at a more advanced stage in Mediterranean countries versus non-Mediterranean countries (65.3% versus 54.7%; P = 0.033). Family history of colorectal cancer in a first-degree relative was more common in non-Mediterranean versus Mediterranean countries (19.1% versus 11.4%; P < 0.001). Conclusion: This study highlights significant geographical disparities in the clinical, pathological and familial features of early-onset colorectal cancer across European countries.

[+]

Keywords

AdenocarcinomaAdolescentAdultAge of onsetBody mass indexColoColorectal neoplasmsDatabases, factualEuropeFemaleHumansIncidenceMaleMiddle agedNeoplasm stagingObesityOverweightPrevalenceRetrospective studiesYoung adultYounger

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal BJS OPEN due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2025, it was in position 19/314, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Surgery. Notably, the journal is positioned above the 90th percentile.

Independientemente del impacto esperado determinado por el canal de difusión, es importante destacar el impacto real observado de la propia aportación.

Según las diferentes agencias de indexación, el número de citas acumuladas por esta publicación hasta la fecha 2026-04-10:

WoS: 7
Europe PMC: 2

[+]

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: Italy; Luxembourg; Netherlands; Poland; United Kingdom; United States of America.

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (Daca Alvarez, Maria de los Angeles) and Last Author (Balaguer Prunes, Francesc).

the author responsible for correspondence tasks has been Balaguer Prunes, Francesc.

[+]

Awards linked to the item

This work was funded by Projects PI20/00974 to J.P., from the Spanish Ministry of Health and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Projects 'PI19/01867, PI22/00470 and CI22/00063' funded by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) and co-funded by the European Union to F.B.

[+]

Indexed in

License and Use

Citations

Altmetrics

Analysis of institutional authors

Share