Colon, pancreas, anus but also kidneys or stomach: cases of digestive cancers in adults under 50 are increasing. The latest figures from the World Health Organization (WHO) report more than 15,000 patients in this age group in France in 2022. In 2023, an international study published in the British Medical Journal revealed that globally, the incidence of cancers in people under 50 years of age increased by 79.1% between 1990 and 2019.
This observation alerts doctors, including Alice Boilève and Cristina Smolenschi, medical oncologists at the Gustave Roussy Institute, who are unveiling the launch of the YODA (Young Onset Digestive Adenocarcinoma) program, on the occasion of World Cancer Day on February 4, 2025.
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"We want to be able to provide them with an answer"
"The YODA program is aimed at people who are diagnosed with colorectal cancer under the age of 50," explains Alice Boilève. And more and more of them are coming for consultations. Men and women, "who do not drink, do not smoke, have a healthy diet and lifestyle, says the doctor, We want to be able to provide them with an answer."This scientific program aims to explore the factors linked to the appearance of early-onset digestive cancers in people under 50.
The share of this increase among those under 50 seems negligible. But unlike the evolution of digestive cancers among those over 50, which tends to stabilize or even decrease, the rate of digestive cancers among young adults is not slowing down. “These are serious cancers with a poor prognosis., adds Alice Boilève. There are fewer than 10% pancreatic cancer patients alive five years after diagnosis.
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Towards early detection
After the protocols have been finalized, doctors will be able to begin the recruitment phase of 300 patients under 50 diagnosed with digestive cancer. We will take a large number of samples to accumulate data that we can compare with healthy people.", explains Alice Boilève. Samples are taken to study the composition of microbiotas, the evolution of cancer cells, but also the microplastic content of visceral fat. "We are among the pioneers on the subject of microplastics. We don't know if it is a factor, but we want to test new hypotheses.", summarizes the doctor.
Doctors hope to have their first test results within three years. One of the goals of this program is to identify the populations most at risk, in order to offer them specialized early screening. In a 35-year-old patient, it is rare to suspect cancer as a first-line treatment in the event of abdominal pain., says Alice Boilève. These early screenings could make it possible to diagnose these early cancers before the metastatic phase, and thus increase the patients' chances of recovery.