Advancing Sustainable & Personalized Care for Early Age Onset Cancer (EAOC) Patients: Addressing Systemic Barriers to Improve Outcomes

A Warm Welcome From CCRAN's President & CEO

Dear Friends,

On behalf of the Colorectal Cancer Resource & Action Network (CCRAN), welcome to our 5th Annual Early Age Onset Cancer (EAOC) Virtual Symposium!

We are thrilled to build upon the momentum of the Symposia series, tackling systemic barriers that continue to limit timely detection and optimal management of early age onset cancer. This year’s program will foster critical discussions on sustainable and personalized approaches to care, examining diagnostic and treatment pathways, the expanding role of technologies such as comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP), and strategies to strengthen survivorship and long-term wellbeing. With the incidence of EAOC rising at an alarming pace globally, even as rates decline in older populations, the journey for those under 50 is often marked by aggressive disease biology, complex psychosocial impacts, and systemic inequities. CCRAN’s Symposium will explore how care must be reframed not only through earlier detection and timely diagnosis, but also through treatment pathways, survivorship support systems, and system-level strategies. Patient and family voices will remain central, ensuring solutions reflect the realities of younger patients.

This year’s agenda brings together leading voices in oncology, policy, health economics, and patient advocacy, alongside experts across multiple tumour types. The program will feature a clinician roundtable on the management of lung cancer, as part of CCRAN’s new annual effort to spotlight one or two cancer types with significant early age onset impact, alongside a patient group roundtable exploring the call for dedicated young adult cancer clinics, and thought-provoking sessions designed to address system-level gaps to help improve outcomes.

The findings from CCRAN’s 2025 National EAOC Pan-Tumour Patient Survey, supported by our valued advocacy partners nationwide, will be prominently featured at our Symposium. The survey examines the support needs of EAOC patients during treatment and survivorship, providing valuable evidence to inform discussions on models of care, including the role of additionally dedicated EAOC clinics and programs. These insights will anchor our discussions, guide collective advocacy efforts to address key gaps, and inform future initiatives to improve outcomes for younger adults diagnosed with cancer.

As always, CCRAN remains committed to serving as a trusted resource beyond this Symposium. We welcome continued dialogue and collaboration with all stakeholders who resonate with our mission of reducing the burden of cancer in Canada. Please do not hesitate to contact Shalini Gambhir at shalini.g@ccran.org with any questions or inquiries related to the Symposium.

Join us as we convene a distinguished faculty of experts to address these critical issues and generate actionable strategies. Together, we can drive meaningful change and shape a future where the under 50 cancer patient population receive the care, support, and hope they so desperately require.

Warmly,

Filomena Servidio-Italiano
President & CEO
Colorectal Cancer Resource & Action Network (CCRAN)‍