Scientists are baffled… Why is colon cancer on the rise among young people?

Colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death in people under 50 in the United States, according to a study published last month in the journal JAMA.

“It’s truly terrifying, but the rates that were initially recorded were very low,” said Helen Coleman, professor of oncology at Queen’s University Belfast.

However, the vast majority of cases occur in older adults: according to research conducted in Northern Ireland , colorectal cancer cases in people under 50 account for no more than 6% of all diagnosed cases.

Coleman noted that infection rates are stabilizing and even decreasing among the elderly in some areas thanks to improved early detection programs.

However, because young people rarely think about the possibility of developing this cancer, they are often diagnosed late, as happened with American actor James Van Der Beek, who died last week at the age of 48 as a result of complications from this disease.

The same disease also claimed the life of American actor Chadwick Boseman, famous for his role in the film “Black Panther,” at the age of 43.

What caused the increase?

As with other cancers that affect young people, colorectal cancer is associated with being overweight and having an unhealthy lifestyle, including poor diet, lack of exercise , alcohol consumption and smoking.

But these factors alone do not explain the “significant increase observed over a relatively short period of time,” according to Coleman.