Colorectal cancer is on the rise among the youngest, a phenomenon that experts do not fully understand, but which they find concerning.
Diet, inflammation and the microbiome, or the intersection of the three, could have something to do with it, however.
An upward trend has been detected since 1995 in several industrialized countries such as Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand.
In recent years, we have seen that the percentage of people with colorectal cancer under the age of 40 or 45 seems to be increasing.said Dr. Carole Richard, head of the digestive surgery department at the CHUM.
« The cause is not really known, but there seems to be a greater percentage among younger people. »
— A quote from Carole Richard, head of the digestive surgery department at the CHUM
The average age at diagnosis of colorectal cancer is 62 or 63 years old. At the CHUM, which handles more than 300 cases per year, 10.7% of cases concerned individuals under the age of 50 in 2006, a percentage that had jumped to 16.9% in 2020.
Between 10% and 20% of younger patients have a genetic predisposition to suffer from this diseaseadded Dr. Richard, but the vast majority of patients 50 and under have no obvious risk factors.
However, she thinks that the microbiome (the intestinal flora) could have something to do with it.
The microbiome, in fact, reflects the environment because it is affected by all environmental toxicities.said Dr. Richard, who leads her own microbiome research group at the CHUM. There’s probably something in the environment that’s changing the microbiome, that’s changing the bacteria in the microbiome, and that’s going to increase the non-repair of cells that’s happening on the gut, and that’s probably impacting the incidence increased.
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More advanced disease
Younger patients will often have a more advanced form of the disease when they are finally diagnosed.she continues.
At first, young men and women will wait longer than older ones before consulting, when the first symptoms appear. Dr. Richard cites as an example a young 26-year-old patient who suffered from bleeding for two years before his stage 3 cancer was finally diagnosed; fortunately he would now be on the road to recovery.
Front-line physicians also have a role to play, realizing that the young patient who complains of rectal bleeding does not necessarily have a minor problem like hemorrhoids.
Symptoms appear, but doctors won’t immediately go for a more invasive testexplained Dr. Richard. They will probably find a balance. You can’t do a colonoscopy to every young patient who is bleeding, but on the other hand you have to look a lot more (far) […] to have your eyes opened to go more quickly to a more invasive examination.
March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Efforts devoted to this end for several years are bearing fruit with a reduction in the number of cases in older patients, which experts welcome, but we are concerned about what is happening with more young people being diagnosedsaid Dr. Richard.
Any symptom should be taken seriously, regardless of the patient’s ageshe concluded.
The main symptoms of colorectal cancer are unexplained changes in bowel habits, such as diarrhea or constipation; changes in stool size or shape; blood inside or on the stool, ranging from bright red to dark black; persistent abdominal pain or discomfort; and unexplained weight loss.
Source: https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1774909/cancer-colorectal-progression-jeunes.