How colorectal tumors increased by 500 percent in some age groups, according to new analysis
Research shows that the number of cases of colorectal cancer has increased by up to six times in some young age groups.
Doctors say the cancers are likely to be overlooked because routine screening in America is only recommended every 10 years starting at age 45.
The average age of colon cancer patients has gotten younger in recent decades due to a trend linked to junk food, obesity and toxic chemicals.
Now, a new analysis has broken down the increase in the most granular detail yet using CDC data.
In 2020, only 0.6 children aged 10 to 14 were diagnosed with colorectal cancer per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to 0.1 per 100,000 in 1999 – an increase of 500 percent. Escalations were also seen in older adults, with rates rising 71 percent in 2020 to 6.5 per 100,000 people in the 30 to 34 age group and 58 percent to 11.7 per 100,000 in the 35 to 39 age group .
Researchers from the University of Missouri-Kansas City found that rates of colorectal cancer increased by 500 percent among children ages 10 to 14 and by 333 percent among teens ages 15 to 19.
“Colorectal cancer is no longer considered just a disease of the older population,” said lead researcher Dr. Islam Mohamed, an internist at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
The researchers looked at rates of colorectal cancer in children and adults aged 10 to 44 and found that cases had risen in all age groups.
“It means there is a trend,” Dr. Mohamed said NBC. ‘We don’t know what to think about it yet, it could be lifestyle factors or genetics, but there is a trend.’
Although the number of cases has risen, the overall number of cases in people under 40 is still low, and cases under 30 remain rare.
For example, in 2020, the American Cancer Society estimated that there were only 17,930 cases of colorectal cancer among Americans under the age of 50.
In terms of the number of cases, only 0.6 children aged 10 to 14 years per 100,000 inhabitants were diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2020, compared to 0.1 per 100,000 in 1999.
The rate of diagnoses among teenagers aged 15 to 19 went from 0.3 to 1.3 per 100,000, and among young adults aged 20 to 24, cases rose from 0.7 to two per 100,000.
Escalations were also seen in older adults, with rates rising 71 percent in 2020 to 6.5 per 100,000 people in the 30 to 34 age group and 58 percent to 11.7 per 100,000 in the 35 to 39 age group .
While the 40 to 44 age group had a lower percentage increase of 37 percent, the group had the highest incidence rate, at 20 per 100,000 people in 2020.
Incidence is the number of new cases of a disease divided by the number of people at risk for the disease.
When rates are low to begin with, any increase can be significant.
“If you start with a very rare disease in 15-year-olds and you add a few cases to that, you get a huge percentage increase,” said Dr. Folasade May, an associate professor of medicine at the University of California. Los Angeles Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases, told NBC.
Erin Verrakete was 18 when she was diagnosed with stage four colorectal cancer. It was 2016 and she had just graduated from high school when she noticed blood in her stool
Mrs. Verbreeke has undergone an intestinal resection, an operation in which part of the small intestine, the large intestine or both is removed, followed by twelve rounds of chemotherapy. In August 2017, she was told she was in remission
Evan White, from Dallas and the eldest of three children, was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer at the age of 24 after going to the hospital to have an abscess removed from his tonsils. He is pictured above at Christmas with his then puppy, a Bernese Mountain Dog named Lola
Dr. May added that while the overall increases are worrying, it is reassuring to see that the oldest age group saw the smallest percentage increase, as 40-44 year olds had the highest number of cases to begin with.
One of those teens is Erin Verrakete, who was 18 when she was diagnosed with stage four colorectal cancer.
It was 2016 and she had just graduated from high school when she noticed blood in her stool.
“I honestly didn’t know colon cancer was a real thing, so I never researched it and it was diagnosed very quickly,” she said.
One day the toilet was completely full of blood, which made her “quite concerned,” so she went to the doctors to have her blood tests done.
‘I couldn’t believe this had become my life. I would be a newly graduated 18 year old, I would have a whole new world in front of me. But the hospital stay and the chemo chair consumed me and took away part of my life.’
Doctors originally told her it was just a bad case of salmonella that would go away on its own, but then decided she should see a specialist for a colonoscopy, after which she was diagnosed with the disease.
She underwent a bowel resection, an operation to remove part of the small intestine, the large intestine or both, followed by twelve rounds of chemotherapy.
In August 2017, she was told she was in remission.
Meanwhile, Evan White, 24, of Dallas, had just graduated from the University of Arkansas with a degree in finance when he was diagnosed with colon cancer after ignoring his main symptom — fatigue — for months.
The tumor was not noticed until it had reached stage three, meaning it had spread beyond the colon, making it much more difficult to treat.
Mr. White was on track to marry his girlfriend and move to California, but his dreams were cut short when he died after a four-year battle with the disease.
Experts aren’t sure what’s behind this unprecedented increase and are investigating whether modern diets, antibiotics or even fungal infections could play a role.
Colorectal cancer normally starts as a small growth, called a polyp, on the inner lining of the colon or rectum, a part of the large intestine.
Over time, the cells in these polyps can divide uncontrollably, causing cancer.
It often causes no or very few symptoms in the early stages. That’s why doctors say everyone 45 and older should be screened for the cancer once every ten years. It is also possible to be screened at a young age, after consultation with doctors.
Early warning signs of the disease can include a change in bowel habits, blood in the stool, unexplained weight loss and sudden fatigue or weakness – caused by blood loss.
If it is caught early, before it spreads to other areas, the target will be used Fight colorectal cancer says nine in 10 patients will live longer than five years after their diagnosis.
But if the cancer is not discovered until stage three, the five-year survival rate drops to 71 percent. In stage four, only 14 percent of patients live another five years.