Colorectal Cancer Risk at Young Age: Causes, Warning Signs, and Prevention Strategies

2024-03-13 03:55:53

▲ A 20-year-old man saw a large number of polyps during a colonoscopy, revealing that a family member suffered from colorectal cancer at the age of 25; the doctor revealed the cause and warned that four types of people are at high risk.

[Colon cancer/carcinogenesis/cancer/colonoscopy/polyps]There is a risk of colorectal cancer at a young age! A 20-year-old man in Taiwan claimed that someone in his family had suffered from colorectal cancer at the age of 25, and he was worried that he might be at risk. Sure enough, following the doctor arranged for a colonoscopy, he found that there were a large number of polyps in the large intestine, indicating a high risk of cancer. Doctors pointed out the causes and warned that four types of people are at high risk and must pay attention.

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Taiwanese colorectal surgeon Chen Weiyou is hereFacebook pageSharing the case, he said that a 20-year-old patient told him that someone in his family was diagnosed with colorectal cancer at the age of 25, and he was worried regarding whether he should have a colonoscopy at his age. This short sentence caught the attention of doctors, because colorectal cancer is theoretically more likely to occur in older people, and the age of 25 is a very unusual age of onset.

The doctor further inquired and learned that several people in the patient’s family had been diagnosed with various cancers, including prostate cancer, breast cancer, etc. So the doctor immediately arranged a colonoscopy for him. Sure enough, this 20-year-old young man also found many large and small polyps in his large intestine. After genetic sequencing, he was diagnosed with “Lin Syndrome”.

“Gene mutation” causes high risk of colorectal cancer in 4 types of people

Dr. Chen Weiyou pointed out that the occurrence of colorectal cancer mainly comes from genetic mutations in large intestinal epithelial cells. Most people develop colorectal cancer due to aging and poor eating habits for a long time; but if it is a genetic mutation, people may develop colorectal cancer at a young age, just like “Lynch syndrome” It is a genetic mutation disease that increases the risk of various cancers.

The doctor further explained that the human intestine is a highly metabolic organ, and a new set of epithelial cells will be replaced every 24 hours on average. When the human body replicates cells, it requires chromosome replication and recombination. However, in the above process, chromosomes often make mistakes because they are copied too fast. If these “errors” are not corrected, “cancer” will form.

Patients with Lynch syndrome are mainly caused by “the failure of the repair function of human chromosomes”. Five groups of gene mutations or abnormalities are: MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, PMS2 and EPCAM. Once these chromosomes lose their normal repair mechanism, they are prone to accumulate cancer-causing mutations, increasing a person’s risk of developing cancer, especially before the age of 50.

Doctors remind that there are four types of people who must be careful and vigilant regarding Lynch syndrome:

  • Multiple relatives have cancers related to Lynch syndrome, including colorectal cancer, gastric cancer, ovarian cancer, and endometrial cancer;
  • One or more family members had cancer before age 50;
  • One or more family members have had more than one type of cancer;
  • A family with more than one generation suffering from the same type of cancer, such as a father and son both developing colorectal cancer.

Get regular colonoscopies to control the risk of cancer

Dr. Chen Weiyou appealed that although Lynch syndrome is a genetic disease and cannot be treated, cancer can still be detected and treated early. If you belong to a high-risk group, you should undergo regular colonoscopy and treat polyps or lesions as soon as possible. People with Lynch syndrome should receive lifelong cancer screening starting in adulthood, as well as regular annual colonoscopies and other cancer examinations to detect cancer early.

It is recommended that the age of the first person in the family to be diagnosed with cancer be reduced by 10 years, which can be used as the first screening time for the entire family. For example, if someone in the family suffers from cancer at the age of 35, it is recommended to have the first screening test at the age of at least 25 years old.

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Editor in charge: Luo Jiaxin

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