Colorectal cancer rising among young

A report published by the

American Cancer Society in January suggests rates of colorectal cancer are rising rapidly among people in their 20s, 30s and 40s — even as incidence is declining in people over the age of 65.

Dr. Michael Cecchini, a co-director of the colorectal program in the Center for Gastrointestinal Cancers and a medical oncologist at Yale Cancer Center, said early-onset colorectal cancers have been increasing by about 2% per year since the mid-1990s. This increase has moved colorectal cancer up to being the top cause of cancer deaths in men under the age of 50 and the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in women under 50 in the United States.

In fact, experts are noticing a rise in early-onset colorectal cancers around the world — a trend they are racing to explain.

Colon and rectal cancers share many similarities and are typically lumped into one category, called colorectal cancer. Studies, however, show the increase in diagnoses is mainly driven by a rise in rectal cancers and cancers found in the left, or distal, side of the colon, near the rectum. “That maybe provides an important clue for understanding what might be going on,” said Caitlin Murphy, an associate professor and cancer researcher at UTHealth Houston.

Colorectal cancers in younger people also tend to be more aggressive, and they are often found at a more advanced stage, Murphy said. But most people affected by early-onset colorectal cancer are too young to be recommended for routine cancer screenings, which have helped decrease rates in adults over 50.

A vast majority of colorectal cancer diagnoses are still made in people 50 and older. When cancer is found at a younger-than-usual age, doctors usually suspect genetic mutations may be to blame. Some research has linked lifestyle and dietary changes to increased rates of colorectal cancer in both young people and older adults.