A new study showed that colon cancer rates among older adults have improved while the cases among young adults are increasing and expected to double by 2030.
Researchers from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston looked at the 1975 to 2010 data provided by the U.S. National Cancer Institute. Their initial finding showed a positive drop of 1 percent per year in cancer rates in both men and women aged 50 and above.
Further analysis revealed the dark side of the story: colon cancer rates among younger adults with ages 20 to 34 are increasing by 2 percent per year and 0.5 percent for middle-aged adults.
Based on the trend of the study, the researchers used a computer model to predict that colon cancer rates among young adults will rise by 38 percent by 2020 and 90 percent by 2030.
The study "reflects what practitioners are seeing in the real world - two decades ago, it was rare to treat patients in their 20s, 30s or 40s for colorectal cancer. Now, unfortunately, it seems much less surprising," Dr. David Bernstein, a gastroenterologist with North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, N.Y., told Healthday News.
Researchers were uncertain of the cause of this trend, but they presumed that dietary changes and lifestyle factors might have contributed on the dramatic increase. They recommended a reevaluation on the diagnostic procedures of colon cancer among younger patients.
"You have to recognize that the incidence rate is increasing in young patients and you have to take their complaints seriously," study lead author Dr. Christina Bailey told Reuters Health.
Bailey believes that the early detection of the disease can improve the results of the treatments.
Colon cancer is the second leading cause of death among cancer types in the United States. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend those that are 50 years and older to get screened as their risk is high. In 2011, 135,260 people were diagnosed of the disease with a 40 percent mortality rate.
The study was published in the Nov. 5 issue of JAMA Surgery.
