Apr 9, 2024 06:24 PM
https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/240933...h-research
EXCERPTS: One in five new colorectal cancer patients in the United States is under 55, according to a recent Wall Street Journal analysis of data from the National Cancer Institute. That’s nearly twice the rate in 1995.
While deaths for colorectal cancer patients over 65 are going down, deaths among younger patients are increasing, a reflection of the higher mortality rates often observed in early-onset cancers. Scientists say these cancers can be more deadly because they are not caught early enough for successful interventions. (Colonoscopies are not recommended until age 45.)
A decade ago, the known risk factors were largely limited to diet and exercise, as obesity was associated with a higher chance of developing colorectal and GI cancers. But we now know that it’s a lot more complicated than how much a person weighs.
While the increase in global obesity rates since the mid-1990s likely plays a significant role in the uptick, scientists have found that specific diets, such as those rich in so-called ultra-processed foods, have been associated with a higher risk of GI cancers, regardless of a person’s body-mass index.
Exposures to toxins in the environment and in everyday goods, including phthalates found in makeup and hair products and formaldehyde in building materials, are now also suspected to increase cancer risk in younger patients — particularly if the exposure occurred at pivotal points in a person’s life. Getting less sleep or interrupted sleep may also be a factor.
[...] The increase in early-onset cancers has become undeniable, replicated in study after study. A BMJ article published last year found that the early onset of 29 different cancers, including breast, stomach, and colorectal, had risen nearly 80 percent between 1990 and 2019 worldwide. Another study published in JAMA Network Open last August found that the occurrence of a wide range of cancers among people under 50 had increased between 2010 to 2019 among American adults, particularly among women.
While colon and rectal cancers are driving much of that increase, cancers up and down the GI tract, including the bladder and kidneys, are on the rise among adults younger than 50...
[...] John Marshall, director of the Ruesch Center for the Cure of Gastrointestinal Cancers at Georgetown University, has been treating patients for 30 years. Early in his career, he says, he would never have a patient under the age of 50. Today, half of his patients are in that younger cohort, many of them otherwise healthy and fit. He first started to notice the trend with colorectal cancers, but later found an increase in other cancers as well, mirroring the research literature.
[...] Systematic reviews of the available research, though, such as one published in Frontiers in Nutrition in 2022, have identified dietary factors that are associated with a higher incidence of early-onset colorectal cancer, regardless of body weight. These include consumption of a lot of deep-fried foods, processed foods, foods high in fat, and sugary drinks and desserts, as well as low folate and fiber consumption.
Marathon runners with cardboard diets, Marshall said, can be more prone to GI cancers than their physical fitness might suggest. Higher alcohol consumption is likewise associated with a higher risk of developing cancer early.
Scientists also hypothesize that changes in our environment, such as the proliferation of microplastics, could be a contributing factor. From food containers to synthetic clothing, we are exposed to these tiny particles every day. They find their way into the environment and, when we inadvertently eat or drink them, into our bodies and our GI tracts.... (MORE - missing details)
EXCERPTS: One in five new colorectal cancer patients in the United States is under 55, according to a recent Wall Street Journal analysis of data from the National Cancer Institute. That’s nearly twice the rate in 1995.
While deaths for colorectal cancer patients over 65 are going down, deaths among younger patients are increasing, a reflection of the higher mortality rates often observed in early-onset cancers. Scientists say these cancers can be more deadly because they are not caught early enough for successful interventions. (Colonoscopies are not recommended until age 45.)
A decade ago, the known risk factors were largely limited to diet and exercise, as obesity was associated with a higher chance of developing colorectal and GI cancers. But we now know that it’s a lot more complicated than how much a person weighs.
While the increase in global obesity rates since the mid-1990s likely plays a significant role in the uptick, scientists have found that specific diets, such as those rich in so-called ultra-processed foods, have been associated with a higher risk of GI cancers, regardless of a person’s body-mass index.
Exposures to toxins in the environment and in everyday goods, including phthalates found in makeup and hair products and formaldehyde in building materials, are now also suspected to increase cancer risk in younger patients — particularly if the exposure occurred at pivotal points in a person’s life. Getting less sleep or interrupted sleep may also be a factor.
[...] The increase in early-onset cancers has become undeniable, replicated in study after study. A BMJ article published last year found that the early onset of 29 different cancers, including breast, stomach, and colorectal, had risen nearly 80 percent between 1990 and 2019 worldwide. Another study published in JAMA Network Open last August found that the occurrence of a wide range of cancers among people under 50 had increased between 2010 to 2019 among American adults, particularly among women.
While colon and rectal cancers are driving much of that increase, cancers up and down the GI tract, including the bladder and kidneys, are on the rise among adults younger than 50...
[...] John Marshall, director of the Ruesch Center for the Cure of Gastrointestinal Cancers at Georgetown University, has been treating patients for 30 years. Early in his career, he says, he would never have a patient under the age of 50. Today, half of his patients are in that younger cohort, many of them otherwise healthy and fit. He first started to notice the trend with colorectal cancers, but later found an increase in other cancers as well, mirroring the research literature.
[...] Systematic reviews of the available research, though, such as one published in Frontiers in Nutrition in 2022, have identified dietary factors that are associated with a higher incidence of early-onset colorectal cancer, regardless of body weight. These include consumption of a lot of deep-fried foods, processed foods, foods high in fat, and sugary drinks and desserts, as well as low folate and fiber consumption.
Marathon runners with cardboard diets, Marshall said, can be more prone to GI cancers than their physical fitness might suggest. Higher alcohol consumption is likewise associated with a higher risk of developing cancer early.
Scientists also hypothesize that changes in our environment, such as the proliferation of microplastics, could be a contributing factor. From food containers to synthetic clothing, we are exposed to these tiny particles every day. They find their way into the environment and, when we inadvertently eat or drink them, into our bodies and our GI tracts.... (MORE - missing details)