Early-Onset Gastrointestinal Cancers and Metabolic Risk Factors: Global Trends From the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021.

Objective: To explore the increasing incidence of gastrointestinal (GI) cancers and related risk factors in younger patients.

Patient and methods: We used data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021 to assess the incidence, mortality, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for early-onset (age 15 to 49 years) GI cancers, including mortality and DALYs from diabetes mellitus and high body mass index.

Results: In 2021, there were approximately 499,800 incident cases, 285,900 deaths, and 14.01 million DALYs from early-onset GI cancer. Early-onset GI cancer accounted for 9.51% of the incidence and 7.73% of the mortality of the overall GI cancer. From 2000 to 2021, age-standardized incidence rates increased for early-onset colorectal cancer (annual percent change, 0.84%; 95% CI, 0.71% to 0.97%) and biliary tract cancer (annual percent change, 0.19%; 95% CI, 0.06% to 0.32%). In 2021, there were 20,860 deaths from early-onset GI cancer attributable to metabolic risk factors. The age-standardized death rates of early-onset GI cancer from metabolic risk factors increased in all types of early-onset GI cancer.

Conclusion: Our research highlights a significant increase in early-onset GI cancer, emphasizing the need for a strategy that includes controlling risk factors, particularly metabolic risk factors, adoption of effective screening methods, and effective cancer management.