Experts find worrying link between colon cancer in young people and another health condition

Researchers have found a concerning link between colon cancer, also known as bowel cancer, and another health condition.

According to Cancer Research UK, there are about 44,000 new cases of bowel cancer in the UK each year, with experts concerned that there is a significant rise in young people being diagnosed with the disease.

Now, a 20-year study of over 630,000 adults in the US who'd been diagnosed with the cancer shows a link between it and being more likely to die of cardiovascular disease.

This danger is especially pronounced in the first two years after being diagnosed with cancer and the risk appears to be significantly high among people younger than 50 who are diagnosed.

Researchers found that the first two years after a bowel cancer diagnosis significantly increased the risk of developing cardiovascular disease (Getty Stock Photo)

The study does not identify the reason for this link but observed that patient heart health during treatment for colon cancer needed to be given extra attention, especially 'among people who are Black, male or younger than 50 years old' when diagnosed.

"Based on our findings, the two-year period after a colorectal cancer diagnosis is a critical period when patients need aggressive care to improve cardiovascular outcomes," said Dr Ahsan Ayaz, of Montefiore St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital in New York.

"For example, there should be an aggressive approach to control cardiovascular risk factors and comorbidities like diabetes and hypertension.

"There is also a need for coordination between oncology teams and primary care teams, because most of those risk factors are managed by primary care providers."

A previous study had found that cancer survivors had a 37 percent higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease and this new research has shed further light on the situation people with bowel cancer face.

Experts found that for the next two years after being diagnosed with bowel cancer, the risk of someone developing a cardiovascular disease was 45 percent higher, and that someone diagnosed with cancer was 16 percent more likely to die of cardiovascular disease than someone without cancer.

For young people under the age of 50 they were 2.4 times more likely to die of a cardiovascular condition if they hadn't been diagnosed with bowel cancer.

Research found that the risk was especially pronounced among those under 50 (Getty Stock Photo)

Researchers do not currently know whether this is because of a side-effect of cancer treatments, is caused by the cancer itself or from something else.

"For therapies that are newer, there is not a lot of data on the side effects and toxicities, but evidence is emerging that they cause cardiovascular toxicity," Dr Ayaz said.

"It is important to identify these problems promptly and take steps to mitigate them."

For the researchers, the next step is looking into cardiovascular deaths in bowel cancer patients receiving different treatments to try and nail down what factors might be behind the increased risk.