A US study published Oct. 1, 2026, in JAMA Network Open found that 'watch and wait', skipping surgery after a strong response to treatment, rose from 2.30% of rectal cancer patients in 2015 to 32.94% in 2023.
In the PRABITAS trial in Japan, published Oct. 24, 2026, in The Lancet, a 14-day schedule of trifluridine-tipiracil plus bevacizumab was as good for survival as the standard 28-day one, with far less severe neutropenia (13% vs. 39%).
In a trial in Southern California community health centers, published Oct. 1, 2026, in JAMA Network Open, mailed stool test kits raised colon cancer screening at 2 years (37.8% vs. 27.0%), but the difference at 3 years was not significant.
A meta-analysis of every randomized trial, published Oct. 27, 2026, in Annals of Internal Medicine, found that laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancer that spread to the liver had fewer complications than open surgery (19% vs. 27%), with similar long-term survival.
A cell-by-cell atlas of 189 colorectal tumors, published Oct. 29, 2026, in Nature Medicine, found that tumors from younger patients had more supporting (stromal) tissue and fewer tumor cells, with distinct signaling, a clue to why early-onset cases are rising.
A Cochrane review published Oct. 27, 2026, found that ALPPS, a staged liver surgery, probably increases how many people with colorectal liver metastases get their tumors removed, with little to no difference in survival, based on only one trial.