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Colorectal cancer screening in hereditary and familial high‐risk populations: best practices and future directions
File(s)
Author(s)
Gilad, Ophir
Balaguer, Francesc
Half, Elizabeth E
Monahan, Kevin J
Stoffel, Elena M
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Colorectal cancer (CRC) remains a leading cause of cancer-related morbidity and mortality worldwide yet is largely preventable through effective screening and surveillance. While most CRC cases are sporadic, a substantial proportion occur in individuals at increased risk due to hereditary cancer syndromes or family history who require tailored screening strategies different from population-based approaches with respect to age of initiation, surveillance intervals, and modality. This review summarizes current evidence on CRC risk across higher risk groups, including Lynch syndrome, polyposis syndromes, carriers of moderate-penetrance genes, and individuals with a family history of CRC. Efficacy of colonoscopic surveillance and the potential roles of emerging biomarker tests and artificial intelligence-assisted technologies for detection of colorectal neoplasia are discussed. Current CRC surveillance guidelines, quality metrics and adherence in higher risk groups are reviewed. As research in genomics, biomarkers, microbiome, and artificial intelligence evolves, personalized risk-based screening strategies hold promise for optimizing CRC prevention. High-quality, population-specific data will be essential to refine surveillance intensity, improve adherence, and reduce CRC burden in higher risk populations.
Date Issued
2026-07-09
Date Acceptance
2026-07-27
Citation
International Journal of Cancer, 2026
URI
URL
DOI
ISSN
0020-7136
Publisher
Wiley
Journal / Book Title
International Journal of Cancer
Copyright Statement
© 2026 The Author(s). International Journal of Cancer published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of UICC. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Publication Status
Published online
Date Publish Online
2026-07-09