Millions of Brits at risk as bowel cancer in under 50s soars – the signs you need to know
THE number of young people developing bowel cancer has soared by more than a fifth in little over a decade, according to new research.
A study in the US found that among people under 50 the rate has risen from one in ten to more than one in eight - in just 11 years.
The research also showed that this age group is more prone to the deadliest forms of bowel cancer.
Lead author Dr Boone Goodgame, an oncologist at The University of Texas at Austin, said: "It feels like we are seeing more and more young people with colorectal cancer now than we were even ten years ago."
His team found the proportion diagnosed with the disease rose from 10 per cent in 2004 to 12.2 per cent in 2015.
The same trend has been identified in the UK, with lazy lifestyles and unhealthy diets to blame, experts say.
It comes after new figures published in The Lancet and BMJ in May revealed a surge in cases in people aged between 20 and 29.
Vital screening
In England and Wales, everyone over the age of 60 is currently invited to have bowel cancer screening tests every two years. In Scotland screening starts at 50.
That's why The Sun launched the No Time 2 Lose campaign - to call on the Government to end the postcode lottery and lower the screening age to 50.
Bowel cancer is the second deadliest cancer in the UK. Around 42,000 Brits are diagnosed, and 16,000 lose their lives to the disease every year.
More than nine in ten new cases are in people over the age of 50, but more than 2,500 younger people are diagnosed each year.
However, bowel cancer can be cured if it's caught early enough through early diagnosis, which is why screening is so important.
Last summer, health secretary Matthew Hancock announced the screening would be lowered - in a victory for The Sun and campaigners, including Sun columnist Deborah James, who was diagnosed with the disease at the age of 35, and Bowel Cancer UK.
However the government is yet to deliver on its pledge to lower the screening age to 50.
Latest research
Dr Goodgame said bowel cancer cases in the under 50s began going up in the US half a century ago - way back in 1970.
The study, published in the journal Cancer, found diagnosis rates have continued to increase over the last decade and younger adults are diagnosed with more aggressive growths.
It was based on an analysis of information from the National Cancer Database registry, which includes more than 70 per cent of new cases in the US.
From 2004 to 2015, the most recent year included, 130,165 and 1,055,598 patients under and over the age of 50, respectively, were diagnosed with bowel cancer.
Over half of the former had more advanced tumours - stage three or four - compared to four in ten of the latter.
Rates of diagnosis in young adults increased over time regardless of income level, with the highest proportion of cases occurred in those earning the most.
Dr Goodgame said the causes are unclear, but recent studies suggest it may be a combination of increases in body weight and changes in gut bacteria.
Deborah Alsina MBE, chief executive of Bowel Cancer UK, said: “This study further adds to the growing body of evidence that shows more younger people are developing early onset bowel cancer around the world.
"Although the disease is much more common in those over 50, each year in the UK over 2,500 younger people will be diagnosed.
"We know from our Never Too Young campaign that young people often face a delay in their diagnosis, which leads to around 60 per cent being diagnosed with more advanced disease, over 30 per cent as an emergency.
"Finding quicker, more effective ways to identify and diagnose younger people early, including those at higher risk with genetic conditions such as Lynch syndrome, is vitally important.
"This must include ensuring GPs have access to appropriate first line tests so that they can more easily identify people quickly who need to be referred onto diagnostics.
"Bowel cancer can be successful treated but early diagnosis makes a huge difference so we must do all we can to rule bowel cancer out in younger patients quickly."
Bowel cancer by numbers...
2 - bowel cancer is the second biggest cancer killer
4 - it's the fourth most common form of cancer
42,000 - people are diagnosed with bowel cancer every year
1,300 - people will lose their lives this month to the disease
15,903 - lives will be lost this year to bowel cancer
44 - people die every day
30 - that's one bowel cancer patient every 30 minutes
15 - every 15 minutes someone is told they have bowel cancer
97 - 97 per cent of people diagnosed in the earliest stages will survive for five years or more
7 - only seven per cent survive when diangnosed at the latest stage
60 - 83 per cent of people who get bowel cancer are over the age of 60
50 - it's more common over the age of 50 but ANYONE can get bowel cancer, you're never too young
2,500 - the number of under 50s diagnosed each year
268,000 - people living with bowel cancer in the UK
Screening is one aspect of catching this disease early.
It is vital every Brit knows what the red-flag symptoms of bowel cancer actually are - and act on them if they are worried.
But a survey by Bowel Cancer UK highlighted that few Brits are actually aware of the signs they should be watching out for.
Five red-flag symptoms:
1. Bleeding from the back passage, or blood in your poo
2. A change in your normal toilet habits - going more frequently for example
3. Pain or a lump in your tummy
4. Extreme tiredness
5. Losing weight
Tumours in the bowel typically bleed, which can cause a shortage of red blood cells, known as anaemia.
It can cause tiredness and sometimes breathlessness.
In some cases bowel cancer can block the bowel, this is known as a bowel obstruction.
Other signs of bowel cancer include:
- Gripping pains in the abdomen
- Feeling bloated
- Constipation and being unable to pass wind
- Being sick
- Feeling like you need to strain - like doing a number two - but after you've been to the loo
While these are all signs to watch out for, experts warn the most serious is noticing blood in your stools.
But, they warn it can prove tricky for doctors to diagnose the disease, because in most cases these symptoms will be a sign of a less serious disease.
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