Santiago Fontes, Medical Oncologist specialized in gastrointestinal malignancies and immuno-oncology, Montevideo, Uruguay, presented his work at ESMO GI 2026.
Early-onset colorectal cancer in real-world practice: Systemic treatment patterns and outcomes – a distinct disease?
“My name is Santiago Fontes. I am from Montevideo, Uruguay, and it is my pleasure, on behalf of my co-authors, to present this poster at the ESMO GI Congress.
Uruguay has the highest incidence of colorectal cancer in Latin America, but despite this, mortality control remains suboptimal.
This study retrospectively analyzed 1,500 patients over a 15-year period (2010–2025). Among them, 16% had early-onset colorectal cancer, while 48% had average-onset colorectal cancer, defined as diagnosis between 60 and 75 years of age.
The objective was to compare early-onset versus average-onset colorectal cancer in terms of molecular characteristics, treatment patterns, and overall survival.
The analysis showed that the early-onset population had higher mutation rates compared with the average-onset group.
Among patients with stage IV disease, this translated into markedly different overall survival outcomes. The median overall survival was approximately 22 months in the early-onset group, compared with 33 months in the average-onset group.
In conclusion, despite receiving intensive treatment, patients with early-onset colorectal cancer did not appear to derive the expected benefit. These findings suggest that future research should investigate whether the poorer survival is primarily driven by the ultra-early-onset colorectal cancer subgroup. Thank you.”
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