A new study indicated that the rates of early digestive system cancers rise dramatically all over the world.
Colon and early rectal cancer witnessed a noticeable increase in both men and women in the United States since the mid -1990s, as the rate of average injury by age increased from 5.9 cases per 100,000 people in 2000 to 8.4 cases per 100,000 people in 2017.
Born in 1990 holds the risk of colon cancer and 4 times the risk of rectal cancer compared to adults born in 1950.
The incidence of colon and early rectal cancer is also increasing, which is the most common type of digestive system, globally, especially in high -income countries.
The study was conducted by researchers from the Department of Medical Oncology, the Dana Farper Cancer Institute, Massachusetts, in the United States and published in the “BGS” magazine, published by the University of Oxford, on July 8, and wrote about the Yurik Alrt website.
A study conducted in 20 European countries revealed noticeable increases in colon and early rectal cancer between 2004 and 2016.
A recent analysis conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States revealed an increase of 185% in people between the ages of 20 and 24, and an increase of 333% in the incidence of colon and rectal cancer in people between the ages of 15 and 19.
Colon and early rectal cancer with these increasing rates have become the main cause of cancer -related death in men under the age of 50, and the second largest cause of death in women under the age of 50 in the United States.
In this study, researchers explain that colon and early rectal cancer patients often face a delay in diagnosis because doctors or patients are not suspected of cancer.
Double suffering
The researchers assert that younger patients are more likely to receive intense treatment, and this is often without the advantage of survival, and that young patients with digestive system cancers have unique needs and are often not worn while receiving cancer.
Younger patients are often more likely to suffer from financial distress due to the diagnosis of cancer in the years of the peak of their income.
A recent study found that 50% of patients reported that their doctors did not talk to them about the effect of their disease or their treatment on having children in the future.
Also, the survivors of colon and early rectal cancer are more likely to report anxiety, body image, and impotence compared to the survivors of the advanced stages, and they are also more vulnerable to reporting weakness in social performance and the quality of physical life.
Risk factors
The researchers note that the risk factors associated with increased risk of developing early digestive system include obesity, western diet, non -alcoholic fatty liver, smoking, and drinking alcohol.
Obesity, especially in childhood and adolescence, is increasing in the United States, and it is one of the leading theories in the explanation of the high rates of infection with many early digestive cancers.
In a 2019 study of approximately 85,000 women in the United States, the risk of colon and early rectal cancer in women with a body mass index of more than 30 compared to women with a low body mass index. The body mass index is a number that is calculated using a person’s length and weight, and it is an indicator to assess excess weight.
“The rate of digestive system cancer in adults under the age of 50 is a global rise in the world. The ongoing research efforts that study biology are the early digestive system cancers are very important to develop more effective strategies for examination, prevention and treatment,” said Sarah Charry, the main author of the study from the Medical Oncology Department, The Dana Farper Cancer Institute.