Age-specific clinical practice guidelines are set to be developed to provide specific advice around early-onset bowel cancer.
Australia has the highest rates of early-onset bowel cancer in the world with one in eight new bowel cancer cases occurring in people under age 50.
Medical Oncologist and Bowel Cancer Australia spokesperson Dr Prasad Cooray said young Australians diagnosed with bowel cancer faced a very different disease trajectory compared to older patients, yet they were managed under the same clinical framework.
“That gap has real consequences, contributing to delayed diagnosis, more advanced stage at presentation, poorer survival outcomes, and long-term impacts on fertility, survivorship, and quality of life,” he said.
Dr Cooray said dedicated, age-specific guidelines were essential to ensure young patients were recognised earlier, assessed appropriately, and managed with both survival and life-stage considerations in mind.
The National Health and Medical Research Council has agreed to consider for approval the Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Early Diagnosis and Management of Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer.
The guidelines will be developed by Bowel Cancer Australia in collaboration with the Australian Living Evidence Collaboration.
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Chief executive of Bowel Cancer Australia Julien Wiggins said development of co-designed age-appropriate guidelines was essential given the rising rates of bowel cancer among Australians under 50 to ensure they reflect the unique clinical challenges younger people encounter.
“The guidelines will use an established ‘living’ approach to generate up-to-date, evidence-based guidance to support clinical decision-making,” he said.
“As soon as new research becomes available, it can be incorporated into the guidelines and translated into clinical practice in near real-time.”
Dr Cooray said pregnancy-associated bowel cancer was a particularly under-recognised subgroup.
“Overlapping symptoms can delay diagnosis, and balancing maternal treatment with foetal safety adds further complexity.”
Natalie, a single mum of two, had significant and obvious red flag signs and symptoms of early-onset bowel cancer: low iron levels in her blood, narrowing stool, tiredness and increasing stomach cramps.
Her symptoms had been dismissed or explained-away by different doctors for years.
By the time she was diagnosed in February 2023 at the age of 43, her bowel cancer was Stage 4 and had spread to her liver. It has since spread to her lungs.
Three years on from the shock diagnosis, Natalie continues to receive treatment and is thrilled her advocacy, along with other young people, has inspired an Australian-first guideline.
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People with a lived experience of early-onset bowel cancer, loved ones, care givers, advocates, as well as healthcare professionals, researchers, and policymakers with expertise in early-onset bowel cancer, are invited to submit an Expression of Interest to be involved in guideline development.
EOIs close on Friday, March 13.
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