Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
Younger people are increasingly being diagnosed with colorectal cancer, a disease typically associated with people age 50 and older, the American Medical Association (AMA) said in a July 24 report.
Colorectal cancer, which includes both colon and rectal cancers, is the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States, even though overall incidence rates have declined since the 1980s, the AMA said.
Among people younger than 50, “the number of incidences has increased by about 2 percent per year,” the association said. “The death rate in the same population has risen 1 percent annually.”
The chief research officer of The Permanente Medical Group, Doug Corley, said in the report that colorectal cancer was a substantial problem that causes “a lot of mortality … and morbidity.”
While researchers cannot identify the exact reasons behind the rise in colorectal cancer among young people, being overweight or obese is known to increase the risk of various cancer types, he said, adding that changes in bacteria inside a person’s gut can also contribute to cancer risk.
A study presented at the Digestive Disease Week 2024 in May last year raised similar concerns.
The study analyzed data from a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention database to determine incidence rates of colorectal cancer between 1999 and 2020.
The changes in colorectal cancer incidence rates for each age group were:
- Ages 10 to 14: increased by 500 percent
- Ages 15 to 19: increased by 333 percent
- Ages 20 to 24: increased by 185 percent
- Ages 25 to 29: increased by 68 percent
- Ages 30 to 34: increased by 71 percent
- Ages 35 to 39: increased by 58 percent
- Ages 40 to 44: increased by 45 percent
“This data reveals some very concerning trends, particularly in our younger population who do not typically come to mind when considering CRC (colorectal cancer) screening for patients,” Dr. Islam Mohamed, the study’s lead author, said in a statement at the time.
In the July 24 AMA statement, Corley said that since older people are being screened regularly for colorectal cancer, the total number of cases, including both younger and older individuals, was declining.
“If we weren’t doing screening, we would probably be seeing an increase in older people too,” he said. “As people get screened, we find and remove pre-cancerous polyps. That decreases their future risk of cancer.”
The American Cancer Society currently recommends that people with an average risk of colorectal cancer start regular screening at the age of 45.
People are considered to have an average risk if they have no personal or family history of colorectal cancer, no personal history of inflammatory bowel disease, no suspected or confirmed hereditary colorectal cancer syndrome, and no history of radiation exposure to the abdomen or pelvic area to treat a prior cancer.
“The most effective thing we have is screening,” Corley said. “It’s so impactful compared to most other medical interventions.”
FIT Versus Colonoscopy
In a July 2024 study published by the JAMA Network, Corley and colleagues analyzed data from 10,711 individuals to determine the effectiveness of the fecal immunochemical test (FIT) to screen for colorectal cancer.
It found that completing a FIT screening was associated with a “reduction in risk of dying from colorectal cancer of approximately 33 percent overall, and there was a 42 percent lower risk for left colon and rectum cancers.”
A one-third reduction in mortality is “a pretty substantial decrease,” Corley said. “We would anticipate it to be even stronger over time or with more frequent screening, such as the recommended once a year screening with FIT.”
FIT is different from colonoscopy, the most common form of colon cancer screening.
A colonoscopy provides a doctor with a direct look inside a patient’s colon. The procedure requires the person to take a day off to prepare their bowel for the process. The patient must be sedated during the procedure.
In contrast, a FIT looks for small amounts of blood in stool, Corley said.
“It’s very helpful because it’s noninvasive. It can be done at home. This provides multiple different modes of screening and increased patient choice,” he said.
This flexibility allows for FIT tests to be conducted via mail in rural settings where people may not communicate regularly with their health care provider, he said.
While a colonoscopy is usually done once every 10 years, FIT is recommended as an annual test, he said.
Those who test positively on their FIT screening can then move to colonoscopy for a better diagnosis, according to the AMA.
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