The alarming rise of GI cancer in young Australians
Australia is facing a rapidly escalating health crisis, with gastro–intestinal (GI) cancer increasingly affecting younger Australians while healthcare systems remain largely designed for older patients.
Researchers and young patients, including Ebony who was diagnosed at just 38, are calling for urgent investment in research to better understand and address the growing trend of early-onset GI cancers, including through the new COMPASS (formerly ORBIT) trial.
Early-onset bowel cancer is rising sharply across Australia, with over one in ten (13%) cases now occurring in Australians under 50, up from 8% in 20001. Rates among people aged 20–29 have more than doubled and diagnoses in 30–39-year-olds have tripled1. In fact, deaths from early-onset bowel cancer have also increased by 35% since 2000, far outpacing the increase of 5% seen in older populations.
Dr Julia Freckelton, Chief Investigator of the COMPASS trial, says the surge in younger patients is reshaping the future of GI cancer care.
“At the moment, Australia is leading the world in rates of early-onset bowel cancer. By 2030, we expect one in three patients diagnosed with GI cancer will be a younger adult.
“The statistics are telling us very clearly that younger people are being diagnosed, more families are being impacted, and the healthcare system needs to evolve to respond to that reality,” Dr Freckelton says.
For Ebony, the statistics became a reality when ongoing gut issues led to a shock bowel cancer diagnosis while balancing work, parenting and everyday life.
“I was 38, working a busy job, raising my son and living life to the fullest. I’d been having gut issues that wouldn’t go away, so my GP booked me in for a colonoscopy just to be safe. Not long after that, I found out I had bowel cancer.”
Younger patients like Ebony are navigating cancer diagnoses while building careers, raising families, studying, managing mortgages and caring for others, pressures that existing treatment models are not always equipped to support.
Fortunately, research from the Short Course Oncology Therapy (SCOT) study, a previous clinical trial conducted by GI Cancer Trials, helped change the course of Ebony’s treatment. The study showed that some patients could safely receive a shorter chemotherapy regimen, reducing treatment time without compromising effectiveness.
“Thanks to clinical research, I only had to complete half the standard rounds of chemotherapy. That made an enormous difference to my life and my family.”
“Through this experience, it became clear that the system is not built for a 38-year-old woman balancing parenting and work.”
Call for funding for the COMPASS trial
Urgent investment in early-onset GI cancer research is critical. The COMPASS trial is an Australian-led initiative to improve care, treatment pathways and long-term outcomes for younger people diagnosed with GI cancers.
The trial will test a more flexible, age-appropriate model of care which includes telehealth and after-hours appointments, improved access to fertility preservation, genetic testing, psychosocial support and mental health services, as well as structured long-term survivorship care.
Alongside the clinical care model, the project will establish a national biobank managed by GI Cancer Trials. The biobank will collect biological samples from consenting patients to support future research into the causes and treatment of early-onset GI cancers.
Dr Freckelton says Australia is now in a critical position to help drive global understanding of early-onset GI cancers through targeted research investment.
“Australian researchers have both an opportunity and a responsibility to lead the world in understanding why this increase in GI cancers is happening and how we can develop better, more effective treatment.”
“A critical part of this is ensuring care models are tailored to younger patients, who are often navigating complex life circumstances that make receiving treatment even more challenging. The COMPASS trial aims to not only deepen understanding of these cancers but also ensure quality of life remains a central consideration throughout treatment,” she concludes.
As Ebony says, “There is still so much we don’t understand about why younger people are developing GI cancers, and there is so much more we can do to improve treatment and support.
“I want young Aussies to know that we’re not powerless here. Researchers and clinicians are already seeing patterns, asking better questions and developing better ways to diagnose and support younger patients.
“We have brilliant people working on solutions. We just need to back them properly,” says Ebony.
Australia has a unique opportunity to lead the world in understanding and treating early-onset GI cancers, but researchers cannot do it alone.
GI Cancer Trials is calling on Australians, philanthropic partners and funding bodies to help accelerate the COMPASS trial and the urgently needed research that sits behind it.
Without greater investment, more young people and families will continue to face life-altering diagnoses without the tailored treatments, support and answers they desperately need.
To learn more about the COMPASS trial or make a donation, visit gicancer.org.au/give.