Scientists worry about colorectal cancer in many young people

A disease known to affect the elderly is now spreading among young adults. A new study shows that colorectal cancer rates have decreased in people aged 50 and older, but have increased in people ages 20 to 30 years.

The disease affects the colon and rectum. This can be called colon cancer or rectal cancer depending on the affected area.

Colorectal cancer is known as an aging disease since it usually affects people over 50 years of age. But the study, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, provides some surprising information that has worried scientists and doctors in Canada.

The latest data from the national cancer registries show that the disease has taken the opposite direction and is affecting more young people. The researchers said colorectal cancer was not only growing but also increasing rapidly, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.

"We thought this trend would slow down or stabilize after people noticed it a few years ago," said Darren Brenner, senior research scientist and molecular cancer epidemiologist at the University of Toronto. University of Calgary. "But every year we see an increase in colorectal cancer among young people, and it's very alarming."

Colorectal cancer in young people

Colorectal cancer cases increased by 3.47% among men under 50 between 2006 and 2015 in Canada. For women, rates increased by 4.45% from 2010 to 2015.

Meanwhile, what was once linked to aging affects older adults across the country. These same changes have also been noted in the United States.

Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have already discovered that Americans under the age of 50 have developed colon and rectal cancers. Rates of young patients increased from 10% in 2004 to 12.2% in 2015.

"We need to understand why this trend is happening among young people to prevent it," Brenner said.

Researchers believe that sedentary lifestyles and obesity have contributed to the increase of colorectal cancer in young adults. Chronic inflammation or type 2 diabetes can also trigger the development of the disease.

Meanwhile, in the elderly, cases of the disease have potentially decreased due to increasing awareness of their risk due to aging. Colorectal cancer is a curable condition when diagnosed early.

Colorectal cancer affects the colon and rectum and develops in people aged 20 to 30 years.
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