Clinicopathologic Features and Staging Risk Factors of Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer

April 28, 2026 updated by: Run-hua Li

Clinicopathologic Characteristics and Tumor Staging-Related Risk Factors of Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer: A Retrospective Cohort Study at Shenzhen Hospital, Southern Medical University

This study aims to characterize the clinical and pathological features of early-onset colorectal cancer (EO-CRC; diagnosis at age ≤50) and to identify factors associated with more advanced tumor stage. The investigators will compare patients with early-stage disease (high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia, carcinoma in situ [Tis], and T1) to those with later-stage disease (T2 and above) to identify characteristics predictive of advanced staging. Adults aged ≤50 years with a pathological diagnosis of colorectal cancer or high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia at Shenzhen Hospital, Southern Medical University between January 2016 and September 2025 will be eligible for inclusion if clinical, endoscopic, and pathology records are available. This retrospective observational study will use existing medical records; no experimental treatments or additional procedures will be performed. De-identified information will be extracted from medical records, including demographics, symptoms, lifestyle factors, laboratory tests, endoscopic and imaging findings, pathology reports, treatments received, and follow-up outcomes. Data will be handled securely, stored using subject codes, and analyzed to compare groups and to develop statistical models that identify independent risk factors for advanced tumor stage. Participation involves no direct contact or additional testing for participants and poses minimal risk because only previously collected, de-identified data are used. Findings may inform improvements in early detection, risk stratification, and management strategies for younger patients with colorectal neoplasia.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
500

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • China
    • Guangdong
      • Shenzhen, Guangdong, China, 518000
        • Shenzhen Hospital of Southern Medical University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients aged ≤50 years with pathology-confirmed colorectal cancer (any T stage) or high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (HGIN) diagnosed at Shenzhen Hospital, Southern Medical University between 2016-01-01 and 2025-09-30. This retrospective single-cohort study uses de-identified electronic medical records, endoscopy, imaging, and pathology reports to extract demographics, clinical presentation, lifestyle and family history, laboratory and tumor markers, endoscopic/imaging features, detailed pathology (location, size, differentiation, TNM/AJCC stage, LVI, molecular markers if available), treatments, and follow-up outcomes. No additional patient contact or study interventions; data handled under IRB approval/waiver with secure coding and restricted access.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age ≤ 50 years
  • Pathologically confirmed colorectal neoplasia diagnosed at Shenzhen Hospital, Southern Medical University between 2016-01-01 and 2025-09-30, defined as colorectal cancer (any T stage) or high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (HGIN).
  • Available source documentation: complete or retrievable clinical record, endoscopy report, and pathology report sufficient to determine diagnosis and stage.
  • De-identifiable data available for extraction (records can be coded and exported without direct identifiers).
  • No requirement for additional patient contact (retrospective use of existing records with IRB-approved consent waiver or documented consent per ethics approval).

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Secondary/metastatic colorectal tumor (colorectal involvement proven to be metastasis from another primary site).
  • Prior history of other active malignancy within the last 5 years that could confound staging or outcomes, unless disease is in long-term remission and clearly documented.
  • Insufficient documentation to determine pathological diagnosis or T stage (key pathology report missing or illegible).
  • Critical data missing for primary outcome (e.g., pathology date or staging information) that cannot be resolved after source review.
  • Duplicate records or irreconcilable data (same patient with conflicting identifiers/records that cannot be reconciled).
  • Patients who received initial diagnostic or therapeutic care outside the study site with no accessible pathology or endoscopy reports at Shenzhen Hospital.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Single Retrospective Cohort
Adults ≤ 50 years diagnosed by pathology with colorectal cancer (any T stage) or high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (HGIN) at Shenzhen Hospital, Southern Medical University between 2016-01-01 and 2025-09-30. Analyses will compare subgroups by diagnosis (EO-CRC vs HGIN) and by stage
Other: Observational (Retrospective Data Analysis)
No experimental or study-specific intervention. This study uses de-identified, retrospective clinical, endoscopic, imaging, laboratory, pathology, treatment, and follow-up data from routine care (2016-01-01 to 2025-09-30). Cohort membership is defined by pathological diagnosis (EO-CRC or HGIN) and analyses will stratify by stage. Data handling includes de-identification, subject coding, double data extraction, logic checks, and secure storage; no additional procedures or contacts with patients will occur.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Tumor Stage at Diagnosis (Early: HGIN/Tis/T1 vs Late: T2 and above)
Time Frame: Baseline - at time of pathological diagnosis (date of pathology report)
Proportion of subjects classified as early stage (high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia [HGIN], carcinoma in situ [Tis], or T1) versus late stage (T2-T4) at initial pathological diagnosis. Staging is determined from pathology and clinical records using AJCC 8th edition criteria and recorded from the pathology report date. Data source: de-identified electronic medical records, endoscopy reports, and pathology reports. Measurement is categorical (early = 0; late = 1).
Baseline - at time of pathological diagnosis (date of pathology report)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Run-hua Li

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
January 30, 2026

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
March 10, 2026

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
March 31, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
April 21, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 28, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
May 1, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
May 1, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 28, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • NYSZYYEC2025K180R001

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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