- New research has identified key symptoms linked to an increased risk of early-onset colorectal cancer in younger adults.
- Symptoms to watch for include abdominal pain, rectal bleeding, diarrhea, and iron deficiency anemia.
- Risk factors for colon cancer may include a history of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), personal or family history of colorectal polyps, or a genetic predisposition.
- An individual’s health status and dietary or lifestyle habits may also play a role.
- Younger adults could lower their risk by maintaining healthy lifestyles, receiving colon screenings when recommended, and considering genetic screening.
In recent years, colorectal cancer has nearly doubled among young adults. Researchers are currently exploring the reasons for this increased risk.
According to a recent study, published in the
“We want younger adults to be aware of and act on these potentially very telling signs and symptoms — particularly because people under 50 are considered to be at low risk, and they don’t receive routine colorectal cancer screening,” senior study author Yin Cao, ScD, MPH, an associate professor of surgery in the Public Health Sciences Division, and a research member of Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, said in a statement.
The incidence of colon and rectal cancer in people under 55 has almost doubled over the past 20 years from 11% to 20%.
Risk factors associated with the increasing incidence of colon cancer among younger adults include:
- family history of colon and rectal cancer in a first-degree relative (i.e., parent, child, or sibling) without an identifiable genetic mutation
- high cholesterol or triglycerides
- increased alcohol consumption
Colon cancer is also
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