Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Rates Of Colon, Rectal Cancer In Young People Spiking Dramatically
Cancers of the colon and rectum have been declining in older adults in recent decades and have always been considered rare in young people. But scientists are reporting a sharp rise in colorectal cancers in adults as young as their 20s and 30s, an ominous trend. The vast majority of colorectal cancers are still found in older people, with nearly 90 percent of all cases diagnosed in people over 50. But a new study from the American Cancer Society that analyzed cancer incidence by birth year found that colorectal cancer rates, which had dropped steadily for people born between 1890 and 1950, have been increasing for every generation born since 1950. Experts aren鈥檛 sure why. (Rabin, 2/28)
While scientists have not pinpointed an exact cause, prime suspects include obesity, inactivity and poor diets, said聽researchers from the聽American Cancer Society, reporting in the聽Journal of the National Cancer Institute. 鈥淐olorectal cancer聽had been thought a success story,鈥 because overall rates have fallen as screening has increased among older adults, said聽lead researcher Rebecca Siegel. 鈥淏ut it appears that under the surface, the underlying risk for colorectal cancer is rising, and it is rising pretty quickly among young adults.鈥 (Painter, 2/28)
The study, which included scientists at the NCI, didn't determine the reason for the shift. But Siegel suggested one explanation might be a complex interaction involving the same factors that have contributed to the obesity epidemic 鈥 changes in diet, a sedentary lifestyle, excess weight and low fiber consumption. Experts said the cancers are not related to the human papilloma virus.聽HPV is associated with squamous cell cancers, which are common in HPV-related anal cancer, but not in colorectal cancers. (McGinley, 2/28)
鈥淚t鈥檚 still a disease of older folks,鈥 said Dr. George J. Chang, chief of colon and rectal surgery at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. ... But with a growing number of younger patients affected, physicians and patients need to be more open to the possibility that symptoms such as blood in the stool and changed bowel habits could be signs of聽cancer, he said. (Healy, 2/28)
