Calls for bowel cancer screening at age of 45 as cases rise in young

DOCTORS are calling for bowel cancer screening to be introduced at the age of 45 after a sharp rise in younger people being diagnosed with the disease.

Research has found that while incidence of the disease is falling among older age groups – who are asked to undergo NHS checks every two years – it is increasing among those below 50.

The study of 21 Western countries, published by The Lancet, found that in the UK, rates of the disease were rising by 1.8 per cent a year among those under the age of 50, while dropping by 1.2 per cent annually in older groups.

And separate research involving more than 140 million adults found that, across Europe, cases were rising by more than seven per cent a year among those in their 20s and 30s.

Experts said soaring levels of obesity fuelled by unhealthy lifestyles appeared to be driving the trend. They urged health officials to bring down the screening age to 45, in line with US advice, to detect cases earlier, when the disease is more likely to be preventable.

The NHS is piloting checks from the age of 55 in some areas, while in others, screening is not offered until the age of 60. Officials have said they intend to lower it to 50. In Scotland, it is offered from 50, while in Wales it starts at 60, and in Northern Ireland it starts at 55.

The findings come from two studies, published simultaneously.

One, published in The Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology journal, looked at colon and rectal cancer rates in developed countries such as the UK, New Zealand, Canada and Denmark.

Dr Marzieh Araghi, the study’s lead author, from the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, said: “Although the incidence of colorectal cancer in adults younger than 50 years remains much lower compared with that in older age groups, our findings are of concern and highlight the need for action to counteract the rising burden of the disease in younger people.

“This rise in incidence among younger generations is likely to be driven in part by the changing prevalence of risk factors, such as obesity and poor diet. National programmes to promote healthy diets and physical activity might be the most efficient approach to ensure population-level changes.”

A second study, published in the Gut journal, found between 1990 and 2016 the number of younger people diagnosed with bowel cancer had risen at a steeper rate after 2004.

Among 20 to 29-year-olds, bowel cancer incidence rose from 0.8 to 2.3 cases per 100,000 people between 1990 and 2016. The sharpest rise was between 2004 and 2016 at an average of 7.9 per cent per year.

Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK, with almost 42,000 people diagnosed every year.