Colorectal
cancer is one of the commonest cancers worldwide and the third
most common cancer globally and the eighth most common cancer in India.
What is alarming in the last decade is the regularity with which it
affects young persons.
In the last two years, every fifth of colorectal cancer in my clinic is
less than 50 years of age.
It is also pertinent to note that the younger the patient, the more
aggressive the disease.
Why is the incidence of the young increasing?
About 15 percent of young colorectal cancer is due to familial genetic
conditions like Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) or Lynch syndrome.
These run in families and if there is a patient with such a condition
all siblings, and children have to be screened.
However, the reason for a higher number of colorectal cancers among
the young is the change in lifestyle and diet.
Processed foods, processed meats junk food, and lesser fiber in the diet
are all major causative factors in the increasing incidence of
colorectal cancer. There is clearly a higher incidence in the
urban population as compared to the rural population. Western countries
have a much higher incidence as compared to India but this is now
changing with the increasing adoption of a western lifestyle in urban
India. Another major contributing factor is obesity due to lifestyle
which contributes to the higher incidence of colorectal cancer. Studies
have shown that almost 40% of young colorectal cancers are overweight or
obese.
Chemical toxins due to pollution of air, water, and food contamination by
pesticides are also known to increase colorectal cancers.
Ignorance about the fact that young patients can also have cancer even
among the medical community is one of the causes of late detection and
hence advanced disease among the young.
Anyone with bleeding in the stool should visit a doctor. General
Practitioners and physicians must remember to get a colonoscopy done if
the cause is not piles or fissures.
This will help detect these conditions early and enable prompt treatment.
We must remember that all early colorectal cancers with the correct treatment by qualified
oncologists have
excellent outcomes and long survivals.