More Millennials and Generation Z Are Getting Colon Cancer: Obesity Causes…

Recent data from the American Cancer Society shows that colon cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death among men under age 50. In women under 50 years of age, colon cancer is the second most common cancer after breast cancer. Until recently, colon cancer ranked fourth in this age group.

Although the number of cases is still quite small, when looking at these statistics, the question immediately arises: “What the hell is going on? We still don’t have a clear explanation. However, a number of possible theories require careful investigation. In the meantime, it’s worth focusing on what can be done to reverse this alarming trend.

The increase in early cancers is occurring primarily in the colon, although doctors are also seeing a slight increase in tumors of the appendix, bile ducts and pancreas. These passages point to a list of likely culprits, ranging from the sudden surge in obesity to our sedentary lifestyles, not to mention our consumption of processed foods. Now researchers simply don’t know.

At this point, most of what we know is what isn’t happening. There appears to be no increase in cancer incidence associated with genetics. Although younger patients with colon cancer have certain characteristics, just over 50% of them present to the doctor because they suffer from rectal bleeding and their tumors are more often located on the left side. Adults.

Finding out what’s driving the rise in colon cancer rates among young people is a huge challenge. This requires looking at the major behavioral, lifestyle and environmental changes that have occurred as cancer rates have risen, starting, apparently, with people born in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Researchers looked at everything that could affect a person’s health: their eating habits, whether they were breastfed, how often they took antibiotics as a child, what other medications they took… the list goes on.

“I can’t even remember what I had for dinner last night, and we’re asking people to remember what they ate when they were 5 years old,” says Christopher Liu, co-director of the Division of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology at the University of Colorado. Oncology center. Researchers can try to obtain data from previous longitudinal studies, such as the Nurses’ Health Study, but this may still have limitations. It will take years to identify the various risk factors.

Obesity rates in the United States began to skyrocket in the mid-1970s and early 1980s, so this is an obvious suspect. Research shows that obesity is a risk factor for colon cancer in general and early onset in women. Researchers this week attributed rising obesity rates in the UK to an expected 39% rise in colorectal cancer deaths among women under 50 compared with 2019 levels. But it’s still unclear whether excess weight causes these early tumors or is simply associated with them. In fact, specialists who treat these early-onset patients say they often see people who are not overweight; In fact, when symptoms appear, some train for marathons or follow a plant-based diet.

The gut microbiome (the complex network of bacteria, fungi and viruses that help us digest food) is also of particular interest. A growing body of research shows that people with early-onset colon cancer have differences in the composition of the microbes that live in their gut, as well as differences in how these bugs interact with their host.

Even if we never find any convincing evidence to explain the rise in early-stage cancer, we can come up with a science-based list of risk factors. Ideally, some of these would include lifestyle choices that people can change. Such a list would also allow doctors to flag high-risk patients for regular screening at an earlier age.

But even without this list of risk factors, there are things young people can do to feel more in control of their health. Some of these are obvious lifestyle changes that can reduce the risk of all diseases, including cancer: things like eating more fruits, vegetables and fibre, exercising regularly, maintaining a lower body weight, taking a moderate approach to alcohol consumption and avoiding alcohol altogether. from tobacco.

It is also important to be proactive in your daily care. When detected early, colon cancer is highly treatable, but too often in younger patients the disease is diagnosed at a later stage. This is partly because they often ignore symptoms (younger patients often experience abdominal pain, rectal bleeding, anemia or diarrhea), and when they seek help, these symptoms are not taken seriously.

Having a primary care physician could improve these statistics. A 2018 KFF survey found that 45% of adults under age 30 and nearly a third of people ages 30 to 40 did not have a primary care doctor because they were young and healthy. But a stable relationship with a doctor allows patients to better detect changes in symptoms and identify the problem early, Liu says.

Although the recommended age for colon cancer screening was recently lowered from 50 to 45 years, doctors do not recommend lowering the age any further. Instead, they stress that anyone experiencing symptoms should take them to the doctor and get the testing offered, even though it may be frustrating. “Just do something,” says Nancy Yu, director of MD Anderson’s Young Start colorectal program. “If you’re too scared to schedule a colonoscopy, just get a stool test. Something is better than nothing.”

Awareness of the growing problem should encourage people under 50 to pay more attention to their body’s signals and seek help as early as possible, when colon cancer is still highly treatable.

This note does not necessarily reflect the views of the editors or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

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