Certain demographic, birth, and parental characteristics may increase risk of early-onset colorectal cancer
· Medical Xpressby Carolina Uribe, Wiley
edited by Stephanie Baum, reviewed by Robert Egan
Stephanie Baum
Scientific Editor
Meet our editorial team
Behind our editorial process
Robert Egan
Associate Editor
Meet our editorial team
Behind our editorial process Editors' notes
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:
fact-checked
peer-reviewed publication
trusted source
proofread
The GIST Add as preferred source
A recent study has found that factors such as a person's birth weight, sex, ethnicity and father's age may affect their risk of being diagnosed with colorectal cancer at a young age. The findings are published in Cancer.
In the study of 1,221 people born and diagnosed with early-onset colorectal cancer—defined as being diagnosed before age 50—in California in 1988–2021, and 61,050 matched individuals without cancer, men had a 34% higher risk of early-onset colorectal cancer compared with women. Additionally, Hispanic ethnicity was linked with a 43% higher risk compared with white ethnicity. Having a foreign-born mother was associated with a 15% lower risk of early-onset colorectal cancer.
Among females, every 500 grams (17.6 ounces) increase in birth weight was associated with a 10% increase in early-onset colorectal cancer risk, and having a father age 35 or older was associated with a 56% higher risk. Investigators did not observe any links between early-onset colorectal cancer risk and other demographic, birth and parental characteristics.
Additional research is needed to uncover potential mechanisms behind these associations.
"Evaluating demographic, birth and parental characteristics is important in understanding what's causing the rising incidence of early-onset colorectal cancer," said lead author Sunny Siddique, MPH, Ph.D., of the Yale School of Public Health. "Our findings warrant future studies aimed at understanding the mechanisms through which factors such as male sex, Hispanic ethnicity, birth weight, maternal birthplace and paternal age may influence the risk of early-onset colorectal cancer."
Publication details
Demographic, Birth, and Parental Characteristics and the Risk of Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer: A Population Based Nested Case-Control Study in California, Cancer (2026). DOI: 10.1002/cncr.70458
Journal information: Cancer
Key medical concepts
Clinical categories
OncologyCommon illnesses & PreventionGastroenterology Provided by Wiley Who's behind this story?
Stephanie Baum
Master's in TESOL from The New School. Passionate about language learning and editing science news on biology and space exploration. Full profile →
Robert Egan
Bachelor's in mathematical biology, Master's in creative writing. Well-traveled with unique perspectives on science and language. Full profile →
Citation: Certain demographic, birth, and parental characteristics may increase risk of early-onset colorectal cancer (2026, June 22) retrieved 22 June 2026 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-demographic-birth-parental-characteristics-early.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.