The alarming rise of colorectal cancer diagnoses in people under 50

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The alarming rise of colorectal ******* diagnoses in people under 50

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Shortly after my 54th birthday, I received a package. The enclosed instructions told me that next time I emptied my bowels, I should scrape a bit of the stool into a small sample bottle, seal it in a pre-paid envelope and drop it into the post. I did the deed and, a few weeks later, was invited to hospital. My sample contained blood; a colonoscopy was ordered to rule out colorectal *******.

I don’t, thankfully, have colorectal *******, and a colonoscopy at 54 is a classic initiation into middle age. But in the coming years, this particular rite of passage might start happening much earlier. While rates of this ******* among people in my age group have been declining thanks to screening programmes like these, the story for the under-50s is far more troubling.

From being virtually unheard of in the 20th century, early-onset colorectal ******* (EOCRC), as it is called in people under 50, now accounts for around

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. That number is predicted to more than double by 2030, and by then, EOCRC is expected to be the most common form of fatal ******* in Americans aged 20 to 49.

The reason why is uncertain, but an ambitious new project is exploring potential causes – as well as the idea that EOCRC may be a distinct and more aggressive form of the disease. Meanwhile, as routine screening is extended to younger groups – in January, England lowered its screening age to 50 – and new, less-invasive tests…

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#alarming #rise #colorectal #******* #diagnoses #people

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