Bowel cancer, also known as colorectal cancer, can affect any part of the colon or rectum; it may also be referred to as colon cancer or rectal cancer, depending on where the cancer is located.
Bowel cancer screening is for people who do not already have bowel cancer, symptoms of bowel cancer, or any reason to have a high risk of bowel cancer.
Patient-centred care is healthcare that is respectful of, and responsive to, the preferences, needs and values of patients and consumers.
Bowel Cancer Australia provides essential support services uniquely designed for bowel cancer patients via our confidential Helpline with specialist telehealth support, as well as a national Peer-to-Peer Support Network and Buddy Program.
Bowel Cancer Australia funds research that has the potential to improve survival and/or help build a path toward a cure and integrates published research into our awareness, advocacy, and support strategies.
Bowel Cancer Australia relies upon donations and the support of hard working and enthusiastic fundraisers across the country to continue our life saving work. We raise funds to continue our life-saving work and inspire others to do the same, so everyone affected by bowel cancer can live their best life.
Each year almost 1,900 Australians are diagnosed with early-onset bowel cancer, and they are currently managed according to clinical practice guidelines that are not age specific.
Until now.
The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has agreed to consider for approval the Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Early Diagnosis and Management of Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer (EOCRC), to be developed by Bowel Cancer Australia in collaboration with the Australian Living Evidence Collaboration (ALEC) and funded by Bowel Cancer Australia.
“Development of co-designed age-appropriate guidelines is essential given the rising rates of bowel cancer among Australians under 50 to ensure they reflect the unique clinical challenges of younger people,” Bowel Cancer Australia CEO Julien Wiggins said
“The guidelines will use an established ‘living’ approach to generate up-to-date, evidence-based guidance to support clinical decision-making. As soon as new research becomes available, it can be incorporated into the guidelines and translated into clinical practice in near real-time,” he added.
“Young Australians diagnosed with bowel cancer face a very different disease trajectory compared to older patients, yet they are managed under the same clinical framework,” Medical Oncologist and Bowel Cancer Australia spokesperson Dr Prasad Cooray said.
“That gap has real consequences, contributing to delayed diagnosis, more advanced stage at presentation, poorer survival outcomes, and long-term impacts on fertility, survivorship, and quality of life.”
“Dedicated, age-specific guidelines are essential to ensure young patients are recognised earlier, assessed appropriately, and managed with both survival and life-stage considerations in mind.”
“Pregnancy-associated bowel cancer is a particularly under-recognised subgroup. Overlapping symptoms can delay diagnosis, and balancing maternal treatment with foetal safety adds further complexity,” he added.
The Australian Living Evidence Collaboration (ALEC) and Bowel Cancer Australia are seeking advice from health care professionals, researchers, policy makers and people living with or beyond bowel cancer and their loved ones and carers about the topics and questions to address in the guidelines.
Through this survey, we aim to identify the topics that should be addressed in order to best support clinicians providing care to people with suspected or diagnosed with early-onset bowel cancer.
We are especially interested in the areas with the highest uncertainty in clinical practice, that cause the most difficulty for clinicians, and that are the most important for people with lived experience.
Collective responses will help us shape the clinical guideline and the order of clinical topics developed over the months ahead.
Survey closed: 17 May 2026
People with a lived experience of early-onset bowel cancer, loved ones, care givers, advocates, as well as healthcare professionals, researchers, and policy makers with expertise in early-onset bowel cancer, are invited to submit an expression of interest to be involved development of the guidelines using the form below.
Expression of Interest closed: 13 March 2026
Dr Prasad Cooray, Medical Oncologist
In 2023, a multidisciplinary international group (DIRECt), composed of a panel of 69 experts, was convened to develop the first evidence-based consensus recommendations for early-onset bowel cancer.
The DIRECt group produced 31 statements across various topics, including: risk factors; symptoms, endoscopic detection, diagnosis, and treatment; genetics; pathology; surgery; oncological treatment; fertility; supportive care; and surveillance.
Each statement underwent three rounds of voting and reached a consensus level of agreement of ≥80%.
The main recommendations were as follows:
The DIRECt group highlighted areas to prioritise in future research, including screening start age for the general population, use of faecal immunochemical tests, chemotherapy, endoscopic therapy, and post-treatment surveillance for early-onset bowel cancer.
Summary of the DIRECt Group Clinical Practice Guidelines