Scientists discover leading risk in developing early-age bowel cancer amid rise in under 50s
Despite advancing science, technology and medicine, the number of colorectal cancer cases is threatening to spiral out of control.
Although we might never discover a cure for cancer, research into the life-threatening disease has improved our ability to identify and treat it, with one woman even thankful to artificial intelligence after it spotted her breast cancer before a human eye could even comprehend it.
However, one cancer which is continuing to elude and confuse a lot of doctors is bowel cancer, with early-age cases particularly baffling for health professionals, who will often diagnose patients with other stomach issues such as Crohn's, colitis or IBS.
What is particularly confusing for doctors is how and why so many young people seem to be developing colorectal cancer, considering it has historically been something which has affected people over the age of 50.
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A number of potential reasons have been cited for this, including the alarming prevalence of ultra-processed foods in supermarkets, but now a study from Yale has suggested that it might be something which presents itself from a young age.
The study examined whether demographic, birth, and parental characteristics influence the risk of early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC), which is classified as affecting anyone under the age of 50.
After analysing statewide cancer diagnosis data from California between 1988 and 2021, the researchers found that males had a 34 per cent higher risk of EOCRC compared to females.
Hispanic ethnicity was associated with a 43 per cent increased risk compared to non-Hispanic White individuals. Among females, higher birthweight and having a father aged 35 or older were linked to increased EOCRC risk. In contrast, having a foreign-born mother appeared to reduce EOCRC risk, particularly among males.
Interestingly, it was also a condition known as foetal macrosomia which was found to contribute towards potential cases of EOCRC. This condition is given to any baby who is deemed to be overweight when they are born, which is applied to anyone who is over 8 pounds and 13 ounces (over 4kg). Having an older father is also said to increase the chances of getting the disease early in life.
Crucially, experts also suggest that that macrosomia is typically triggered when the parents are also overweight or have diabetes of their own, meaning that parent's lifestyle choices are perhaps more important than ever before deciding to have a child.
The scientists analysed over 62,000 people during their research and these two factors were deemed to be significant, while having a foreign mother was deemed to be beneficial in decreasing the chances of developing the deadly disease.
Although bowel cancer has a strong survival rate, it is also one of the biggest killers of people between the ages of 25 and 54, with many of the symptoms disregarded as something far less serious.
We've already seen the likes of Chadwick Boseman, James Van Der Beek and Mel Schilling pass away from bowel cancer in the last few years.
Symptoms of the cancer can include blood in the stool, unexplained abdominal pain and weight loss, and general fatigue.
Topics: Bowel cancer
James Moorhouse