“My team conducted a few studies, particularly one that wanted to look at the burden of appendix cancers in young adults,” [Dr. Holowatyj] said. “And what we strikingly found there was that, in contrast to the fact that about 1 in every 5 colorectal cancer patients is diagnosed before the age of 50, we found that 1 in every 3 [30.8%] appendix cancer patients are diagnosed before age 50. Noting this really disproportionate burden in younger patients really spurred a lot of the subsequent work that my lab has done and continues to do."