Early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) shows a different epidemiological trend compared to later-onset colorectal cancer, with its incidence rising in most regions and countries worldwide. However, the reasons behind this trend remain unclear. The etiology of EOCRC is complex and could involve both genetic and environmental factors. Apart from Lynch syndrome and Familial Adenomatous Polyposis, sporadic EOCRC exhibits a broad spectrum of pathogenic germline mutations, genetic polymorphisms, methylation changes, and chromosomal instability. Early-life exposures and environmental risk factors, including lifestyle and dietary risk factors, have been found to be associated with EOCRC risk. Meanwhile, specific chronic diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome, have been associated with EOCRC. Interactions between genetic and environmental risk factors in EOCRC have also been explored. Here we present findings from a narrative review of epidemiological studies on the assessment of early-life exposures, of EOCRC-specific environmental factors, and their interactions with susceptible loci. We also present results from EOCRC-specific genome-wide association studies that could be used to perform Mendelian randomization analyses to ascertain potential causal links between environmental factors and EOCRC.
Humans ; Colorectal Neoplasms/etiology* ; Risk Factors ; Genome-Wide Association Study ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease/genetics*

Metabolomics covers a wide range of applications in life sciences, biomedicine, and phytology. Data acquisition (to achieve high coverage and efficiency) and analysis (to pursue good classification) are two key segments involved in metabolomics workflows. Various chemometric approaches utilizing either pattern recognition or machine learning have been employed to separate different groups. However, insufficient feature extraction, inappropriate feature selection, overfitting, or underfitting lead to an insufficient capacity to discriminate plants that are often easily confused. Using two ginseng varieties, namely Panax japonicus (PJ) and Panax japonicus var. major (PJvm), containing the similar ginsenosides, we integrated pseudo-targeted metabolomics and deep neural network (DNN) modeling to achieve accurate species differentiation. A pseudo-targeted metabolomics approach was optimized through data acquisition mode, ion pairs generation, comparison between multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) and scheduled MRM (sMRM), and chromatographic elution gradient. In total, 1980 ion pairs were monitored within 23 min, allowing for the most comprehensive ginseng metabolome analysis. The established DNN model demonstrated excellent classification performance (in terms of accuracy, precision, recall, F1 score, area under the curve, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC)) using the entire metabolome data and feature-selection dataset, exhibiting superior advantages over random forest (RF), support vector machine (SVM), extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), and multilayer perceptron (MLP). Moreover, DNNs were advantageous for automated feature learning, nonlinear modeling, adaptability, and generalization. This study confirmed practicality of the established strategy for efficient metabolomics data analysis and reliable classification performance even when using small-volume samples. This established approach holds promise for plant metabolomics and is not limited to ginseng.

Locally advanced rectal cancer(LARC)is associated with a high risk of local recurrence and distant metastasis,making it difficult to be cured by surgery alone.Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy followed by surgery is the standard treatment for LARC,with reduced local recurrence rates.However,neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy is associated with patients' urogenital and sexual dysfunction,which severely affecting their quality of life.Therefore,determining the optimal timing of surgery to balance oncologic and functional outcomes is crucial and challenging.We proposed that choosing the optimal timing of surgery based on preoperative risk assessment of LARC is an effective strategy.The patients with low to moderate risk of recurrence can be considered to perform surgery directly or have preoperative chemotherapy followed by radical surgery.Patients with high risk of recurrence should extend neoadjuvant therapy before surgery to improve oncologic outcomes.In this study we explored the optimal timing of radical surgery for LARC,providing a new idea for individualized and precise treatment of LARC.

With the widespread application of colorectal cancer screening, the surveillance and management of the increasing number of screened population has become a pivotal aspect in preventing and controlling colorectal cancer. In recent years, researches have been conducted on the risk of colorectal cancer incidence and mortality in the population after screening. At the same time, various organizations in Europe and the United States have continuously updated colonoscopy surveillance after screening and polypectomy based on the latest research evidence. In this review, we summarized the current progress of studies on colorectal cancer risk in post-screening colorectal cancer populations and the key points of relevant guideline updates, in order to provide a reference for conducting relevant studies and formulating surveillance guidelines or consensus in China.

The incidence and mortality rates of early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) among people under 50 years old are showing an upward trend. Although traditional epidemiological studies have conducted relatively deep research and screened out environmental factors related to EOCRC, our understanding of the causes, mechanisms, and treatment of this disease is still far from sufficient. In this review, we clarify the current progress of EOCRC, with a particular focus on epidemiology, screening status, clinical symptoms, and prognosis. This provides new evidence for secondary prevention, including precision screening, and offers new ideas for improving the diagnosis and treatment of EOCRC.

Objective:To explore the differences in distribution of colorectal cancer-related risk factors between patients with early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) and those with late-onset colorectal cancer (LOCRC) in a Chinese cohort, and to provide reference and guidance for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of EOCRC.Methods:Using data from the National Colorectal Cancer Cohort study cohort, 5377 patients with newly diagnosed colorectal cancer (CRC) attending the Department of Colorectal Surgery and Oncology of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine from June 2018 to February 2023 were included in the study cohort. Questionnaires capturing epidemiological features, including lifestyle and dietary habits, were administered. The patients were divided into two groups, the cut-off age being 50 years. Those aged ≥50 years were defined as having LOCRC and those aged <50 years as having EOCRC. Wilcoxon (continuous variates) or χ 2 tests (categorical variates) were performed to compare differences in epidemiological features. Results:A total of 3799 people who had completed the questionnaire were included in this study, 491 of whom had EOCRC and 3308 LOCRC. The response rate to the questionnaire was 70.7%. The median ages of patients in the EOCRC and LOCRC groups were 43 and 66 years, respectively. There was a higher proportion of female patients (48.5% [253/491] vs. 35.8% [1184/3308], χ 2=28.8, P<0.001) in the EOCRC than the LOCRC group. Patients with EOCRC and lower body mass index (medium 22.1 kg/m 2 vs. 22.9 kg/m 2, W=744 793, P=0.005) and lower proportion of abdominal obesity (87.2% [428/491] vs. 93.8% [3103/3308], χ 2=38.3, P<0.001). Patients with EORC significantly less commonly reported a history of hypertension (5.9% [29/491] vs. 41.6% [1375/3308], χ 2=231.8, P<0.001), diabetes (1.4% [7/491] vs. 14.4% [476/3308], χ 2=63.6, P<0.001) and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases (0.8% [4/491] vs. 7.3% [241/3308], χ 2=28.6, P<0.001). However, the proportion of patients with a family history of CRC was significantly higher ( P<0.05) in the EOCRC group (10.2% [50/491] vs. 6.9% [227/3 308], χ 2=6.5, P=0.010]. In terms of lifestyle, patients with EOCRC had shorter sleep duration (median: 8.0 hours vs. 8.5 hours, W=578 989, P<0.001), and were less likely to participate in physical exercise (29.5% [145/491] vs. 38.7% [1281/3308] χ 2=15.0, P<0.001) or engage in physical work (65.2% [320/491] vs. 74.1% [2450/3308], χ 2=16.7, P<0.001). Meanwhile, in the EOCRC group a lower percentage of patients were smokers (29.3% [144/491] vs. 42.7% [1411/3308], χ 2=46.9, P<0.001) and they smoked less (median 17.6 pack/year vs. 30.0 pack/year,W=55 850, P<0.001). Fewer patients in the EOCRC group habitually drank alcohol (21.0% [103/491] vs. 38.0% [1257/3308], χ 2=57.5, P<0.001) or tea (17.5% [86/491] vs. 28.7% [948/3308], χ 2=26.2, P<0.001) than in the LOCRC group. Compared with the LOCRC group, patients with EOCRC had a higher frequency of intake of fresh meat, fresh fruit, eggs, and dairy products and a lower frequency of intake of preserved meat and pickled vegetables; these differences are statistically significant (all P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in consumption of fresh vegetables or a high-sugar diet between the two groups (both P>0.05). Conclusions:This study highlights disparities in adverse lifestyle and dietary habits between patients in China with EOCRC versus LOCRC.

Objective:To analyze the types and distribution of pathogenic variants for neonatal genetic diseases in Huzhou, Zhejiang Province.Methods:One thousand neonates (48 ~ 42 h after birth) born to Huzhou region were selected as the study subjects. Dry blood spot samples were collected from the newborns, and targeted capture high-throughput sequencing was carried out for pathogenic genes underlying 542 inherited diseases. Candidate variants were verified by Sanger sequencing.Results:Among the 1 000 newborns, the male to female ratio was 1.02 : 1.00. No pathogenic variants were detected in 253 cases, whilst 747 cases were found to carry at least one pathogenic variant, which yielded a carrier rate of 74.7%. The most frequently involved pathogenic gene was FLG, followed by GJB2, UGT1A1, USH2A and DUOX2. The variants were classified as homozygous, compound heterozygous, and hemizygous variants. Based on the guidelines from the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG), 213 neonates were verified to have carried pathogenic and/or likely pathogenic variants, with a positive rate of 21.3%. The most commonly involved genes had included UGT1A1, FLG, GJB2, MEFV and G6PD. Conclusion:Newborn screening based on high-throughput sequencing technology can expand the scope of screening and improve the positive predictive value. Genetic counseling based on the results can improve the patients′ medical care and reduce neonatal mortality and childhood morbidity, while provide assistance to family members′ health management and reproductive decisions.

With the widespread application of colorectal cancer screening, the surveillance and management of the increasing number of screened population has become a pivotal aspect in preventing and controlling colorectal cancer. In recent years, researches have been conducted on the risk of colorectal cancer incidence and mortality in the population after screening. At the same time, various organizations in Europe and the United States have continuously updated colonoscopy surveillance after screening and polypectomy based on the latest research evidence. In this review, we summarized the current progress of studies on colorectal cancer risk in post-screening colorectal cancer populations and the key points of relevant guideline updates, in order to provide a reference for conducting relevant studies and formulating surveillance guidelines or consensus in China.

The incidence and mortality rates of early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) among people under 50 years old are showing an upward trend. Although traditional epidemiological studies have conducted relatively deep research and screened out environmental factors related to EOCRC, our understanding of the causes, mechanisms, and treatment of this disease is still far from sufficient. In this review, we clarify the current progress of EOCRC, with a particular focus on epidemiology, screening status, clinical symptoms, and prognosis. This provides new evidence for secondary prevention, including precision screening, and offers new ideas for improving the diagnosis and treatment of EOCRC.

Objective:To explore the differences in distribution of colorectal cancer-related risk factors between patients with early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) and those with late-onset colorectal cancer (LOCRC) in a Chinese cohort, and to provide reference and guidance for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of EOCRC.Methods:Using data from the National Colorectal Cancer Cohort study cohort, 5377 patients with newly diagnosed colorectal cancer (CRC) attending the Department of Colorectal Surgery and Oncology of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine from June 2018 to February 2023 were included in the study cohort. Questionnaires capturing epidemiological features, including lifestyle and dietary habits, were administered. The patients were divided into two groups, the cut-off age being 50 years. Those aged ≥50 years were defined as having LOCRC and those aged <50 years as having EOCRC. Wilcoxon (continuous variates) or χ 2 tests (categorical variates) were performed to compare differences in epidemiological features. Results:A total of 3799 people who had completed the questionnaire were included in this study, 491 of whom had EOCRC and 3308 LOCRC. The response rate to the questionnaire was 70.7%. The median ages of patients in the EOCRC and LOCRC groups were 43 and 66 years, respectively. There was a higher proportion of female patients (48.5% [253/491] vs. 35.8% [1184/3308], χ 2=28.8, P<0.001) in the EOCRC than the LOCRC group. Patients with EOCRC and lower body mass index (medium 22.1 kg/m 2 vs. 22.9 kg/m 2, W=744 793, P=0.005) and lower proportion of abdominal obesity (87.2% [428/491] vs. 93.8% [3103/3308], χ 2=38.3, P<0.001). Patients with EORC significantly less commonly reported a history of hypertension (5.9% [29/491] vs. 41.6% [1375/3308], χ 2=231.8, P<0.001), diabetes (1.4% [7/491] vs. 14.4% [476/3308], χ 2=63.6, P<0.001) and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases (0.8% [4/491] vs. 7.3% [241/3308], χ 2=28.6, P<0.001). However, the proportion of patients with a family history of CRC was significantly higher ( P<0.05) in the EOCRC group (10.2% [50/491] vs. 6.9% [227/3 308], χ 2=6.5, P=0.010]. In terms of lifestyle, patients with EOCRC had shorter sleep duration (median: 8.0 hours vs. 8.5 hours, W=578 989, P<0.001), and were less likely to participate in physical exercise (29.5% [145/491] vs. 38.7% [1281/3308] χ 2=15.0, P<0.001) or engage in physical work (65.2% [320/491] vs. 74.1% [2450/3308], χ 2=16.7, P<0.001). Meanwhile, in the EOCRC group a lower percentage of patients were smokers (29.3% [144/491] vs. 42.7% [1411/3308], χ 2=46.9, P<0.001) and they smoked less (median 17.6 pack/year vs. 30.0 pack/year,W=55 850, P<0.001). Fewer patients in the EOCRC group habitually drank alcohol (21.0% [103/491] vs. 38.0% [1257/3308], χ 2=57.5, P<0.001) or tea (17.5% [86/491] vs. 28.7% [948/3308], χ 2=26.2, P<0.001) than in the LOCRC group. Compared with the LOCRC group, patients with EOCRC had a higher frequency of intake of fresh meat, fresh fruit, eggs, and dairy products and a lower frequency of intake of preserved meat and pickled vegetables; these differences are statistically significant (all P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in consumption of fresh vegetables or a high-sugar diet between the two groups (both P>0.05). Conclusions:This study highlights disparities in adverse lifestyle and dietary habits between patients in China with EOCRC versus LOCRC.