From Personal Trouble to Public Issue: Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer Among Young Latino Men.

C. Wright Mills' concept of the sociological imagination connects personal troubles to public issues. This editorial, co-authored by a sociologist, a Latino cancer survivor, and a community organizing director, applies that framework to early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) among young Latino men, where molecular epidemiology and structural inequities converge. Recent genomic research identifies colibactin mutational signatures disproportionately present in EOCRC tumors, suggesting early-life microbial exposures may shape later carcinogenesis. Yet biological evidence alone cannot explain why young Latino men bear heavier diagnostic delays, lower screening rates, and worse outcomes. Drawing on co-author Aguilar's diagnosis at age 38, co-author Martinez Espino's community organizing practice, and the published literature on Latino cancer disparities, this editorial argues that fully understanding EOCRC requires interdisciplinary integration of molecular and sociological evidence. Addressing these inequities demands culturally tailored prevention, expanded community health worker and patient navigation programs, and structural policy reform. Effectively integrating epidemiology with health equity and community-based knowledge offers a path to address EOCRC inequities more comprehensively than any single discipline alone. EOCRC among young Latino men is not only a biological phenomenon but a social epidemiologic issue demanding a collective response.