Tuesday 19 March 2019

Rates of colon cancer have doubled among young people, and doctors still don’t know why

Early detection is key, experts say, in treating colon and rectal cancers.
Early detection is key, experts say, in treating colon and rectal cancers.

While rates of colorectal cancer are down in adults over 55, a recent study found that more young people are now being diagnosed with the disease.

According to findings published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, rates of colon cancer have doubled in U.S. adults aged 20-39 since the mid-1980s. In adults between the ages of 40 and 54, incidents of colon cancer have increased from 0.5 per cent to 1.3 per cent since the mid-1990s.

“The cause for the rise in young adults is unknown and a growing area of research,” Dr. Rebecca Siegel, the study’s lead author and a scientific director at the American Cancer Society, told Global News.

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