Marianna Vitaloni, Medical and Scientific Project Manager at Digestive Cancers Europe, shared on LinkedIn:
“Last Friday, I had the pleasure of presenting our recently published study during the final session of the Digestive Cancers Europe Masterclass in Barcelona, held alongside ESMO – European Society for Medical Oncology GI 2025.
This year’s Masterclass brought together passionate patient advocates from across Europe – and I was honoured to share the findings from our manuscript
‘Clinical Challenges and Patient Experiences in Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer: Insights from Seven European Countries’, published in BMC Gastroenterology.
The study is based on focus groups with 47 patients and survivors diagnosed with colorectal cancer under the age of 50. It highlights critical challenges they face – from delayed diagnosis and gender bias, to lack of psychological support, fertility counselling, and age-appropriate care.
The insights from this work are already shaping:
- DiCE’s awareness campaigns
- Our advocacy strategy
- The ENTERO project
- And the development of new educational resources for young CRC patients
I’m incredibly grateful to the patients who shared their stories with us, and to all the DiCE Members and partners who helped make this project a reality.
Read the full article here.”
Title: Clinical challenges and patient experiencesin early-onset colorectal cancer: insightsfrom seven European countries
Authors: Marianna Vitaloni, Katell Maguet, Andi Carlan, Patricia Stack, Vincent de Jong, Ross Williams and Zorana Maravic
