With the mainstreaming of social media, online resources, remote-controlled technologies, and "instant" goods and services, physical activity especially among the young has decreased exponentially. This in turn, has led to a higher number of obesity-related cases as well as poor diet in the U.S. Such lifestyle and behavioral factors could be the reason why the younger generation is seeing a rise in the number of people of their age group with colon cancer. A recent study found that the current trend in colon cancer among young adults has been on a surge during recent years.
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center researchers assessed the age disparities seemingly present in colorectal cancer (CRC) cases using data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) CRC registry. The team obtained data for all patients who had been diagnosed with colon or rectal cancer, from 1975-2010.
They found that the overall rate of CRC incidence had declined by 0.92% between 1975 and 2010 - by 1.03 per cent in men and 0.91 per cent in women. The reduction was most significant in patients aged 75 and above, declining by 1.15 per cent, compared with a decline of 0.97 per cent in patients aged 50-74. However, the CRC incidence rates increased among patients aged 20-49. The increase was 1.99 per cent in patients aged 20-34 and 0.41 per cent in patients aged 35-49.
The findings of the study were published in JAMA Surgery.
"The increasing incidence of CRC among young adults is concerning and highlights the need to investigate potential causes and external influences such as lack of screening and behavioral factors," the authors of the study said.
Dr. Kiran K. Turaga, of the Medical College of Wisconsin-Milwaukee said that the findings of the report are disturbing and further investigation should be done to find the reason for such increase among the younger generation. Dr. Turaga said, "[This] report should stimulate opportunities for development of better risk-prediction tools that might help us identify these individuals early and initiate better screening/prevention strategies. The use of stool DNA, genomic profiling and mathematical modeling might all be tools in the armamentarium of the oncologist in the near future."
Colon cancer is a disease conventionally attributed to people 50 -above. Physicians do not even recommend CRC screening for people who are younger than 50.
Cases of CRC among older adults have been on the decline in recent years, with CRC incidence dropping each year by 3 per cent in men and 2.4 per cent in women.
Notwithstanding, CRC is still considered the third most common cancer in the US with an estimated 142,820 new cases were reported, along with approximately 50,830 deaths attributed to the disease. According to the National Cancer Institute, nearly 97,000 people will be newly diagnosed with colon cancer and 40,000 with new rectal cancer this year and about 50,000 people will die from those cancers.
In order to prevent one's self from getting the disease, younger people with family members who have had CRC are advised to get regular CRC screenings. The American Cancer Society also recommends diet changes like eating five or more fruit or vegetables servings a day, having some physical activities and limiting alcohol intake.
