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The share of colorectal cancer
diagnoses among adults younger than 55 in the US has been rising since the 1990s,
and no one knows why. Researchers at Dana-Farber
Cancer Institute are calling for more work to be done to understand, prevent
and treat colorectal cancer at younger ages. In a paper, the researchers,
Dr. Marios Giannakis and Dr. Kimmie Ng, outlined a way for scientists to
accelerate their investigations into the puzzling rise of colorectal cancer
among younger ages, calling for more specialized research centers to focus on
younger patients with the disease, and for diverse populations to be included
in studies on early-onset colorectal cancer. Their hope is that this work
will help improve outcomes for young colorectal cancer patients. Among younger adults, ages 20
to 49, colorectal cancer is estimated to become the leading cause of
cancer-related deaths in the United States by 2030. A report released this month by
the American Cancer Society shows that the proportion of colorectal cancer
cases among adults younger than 55 increased from 11% in 1995 to 20% in 2019.
Yet the factors driving that rise remain a mystery. Some of the factors known to
raise anyone’s risk of colorectal cancer are having a family history of the
disease, having a certain genetic mutation, drinking too much alcohol,
smoking cigarettes and being obese. Yet scientists remain divided
when it comes to just how much of a role those known risk factors –
especially obesity – play in the rise of colorectal cancer among adults
younger than 55. Scientists are also exploring
whether genetic mutations that can raise someone’s risk for colorectal cancer
have played a role in the rise of cases among younger adults – but the
majority of these patients do not have them. Overall, pinpointing what could
be driving this surge in colorectal cancer diagnoses among younger ages will
not only help scientists better understand cancer as a disease, it will help
doctors develop personalized risk assessments for their younger patients,
said Dr. Subhankar Chakraborty, a gastroenterologist with The Ohio State
University Comprehensive Cancer Center. Click
here to
learn how 35-year-old Nikki Lawson discovered she had colon cancer. |
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