Poster Presentation Clinical Oncology Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting 2026

So where do we start? Developing age-appropriate clinical practice guidelines that reflect areas of greatest clinical uncertainty and maximise potential health impacts in an era of rising rates of bowel cancer in young people (145150)

Tanya N Millard 1 , Shannon Barnes 1 , William Lewis 1 , Julien Wiggins 2 , Claire Annear 2 , Tari Turner 1
  1. Monash University, Melbourne, VICTORIA, Australia
  2. Bowel Cancer Australia, North Sydney

Aims

The Australian Living Evidence Collaboration (ALEC) and Bowel Cancer Australia are developing Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Early Diagnosis and Management of Early Onset Colorectal Cancer (EOCRC). To ensure resources are directed towards the most high-impact evidence synthesis in the greatest areas of need, we undertook a formal process to identify and prioritise clinical topics prior to commencing guideline development work. The aim of this project was to identify stakeholder (clinician, decision-maker, and consumer) perspectives on high priority topics for the development of new guidance in the care of young people with EOCRC in Australia.

 

Methods

An online survey was distributed to Australian health professionals providing EOCRC care, researchers, policymakers, and people with lived experience of EOCRC. Quantitative (likert and rating) and qualitative (free text) data were collected. Ratings were analysed and compared to generate a list of priority topics to be addressed in the guideline. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, and qualitative data were analysed using content analysis.

 

Results

The initial assessment identified 19 potentially high-priority topics. We heard from 131 health professionals, researchers, and policymakers and 141 people with lived experience via national survey and identified 8 priority topics for the Australian EOCRC guidelines. Priority topics included early detection and diagnosis, psychosocial care, multidisciplinary team care, neoadjuvant/adjuvant treatment, management of locally recurrent and metastatic EOCRC, systemic therapies, fertility/reproductive health, and molecular profiling/genetic testing.

 

Conclusions

Our multi-stage process identified a prospective agenda of priority topics reflecting the greatest clinical uncertainty and potential health impact to be addressed in the Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Early Diagnosis and Management of EOCRC. The resulting list of priority topics is currently informing the development of the guideline and provides a valuable resource for research funders, researchers, and stakeholders.