“Worrying increase”: colon cancer is increasing among young people

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It is good news for all types of cancer. Carlo La Vecchia and his team from the University of Milan publish a study every year on currently expected cancer deaths. For this they use data from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat). The latest prognosis has just been published in the journal “Annals of Oncology”.

Based on developments in recent years, researchers predict that there will be 1.27 million deaths from cancer in the European Union (EU) by 2024. That is slightly more than in 2018 with 1.21 million cancer deaths. However, according to La Vecchia, the minimal increase is solely due to the fact that the population has grown and the proportion of elderly people has increased. When the statistical aging of the population is taken into account, this is called the age-adjusted mortality rate (ASR). Seen in this light, the number of cancer deaths has even fallen between 2018 and 2024, from 131.8 to 123.2 per 100,000 men (-6.5 percent) and from 82.6 to 79 per 100,000 women (-4.3 percent). ).

Unfavorable figures from Great Britain

When the different types of cancer are examined separately, a downward trend in deaths can usually also be observed. Except for pancreatic cancer and regionally in young people in the case of colon cancer. The unfavorable trend in pancreatic cancer has been known for some time. When it comes to colon cancer, a development that has already caused a stir in the US appears to be repeating itself in Europe.

The trend is clearest in Britain. The ASR for colon cancer for the age group from 25 to 49 years is from 3.71 to 4.68 per 100,000 men (+26.12 percent) and from 3.30 to 4.58 per 100,000 women (+38. 58 percent) increased. According to the research, there has also been an increase in the age group in Italy (+1.5 percent for men and +2.6 percent for women) and for men in Spain (+5.5 percent) and Poland (+5, 9 percent). In Germany, scientists found an increase of 7.2 percent among women in the corresponding age group.

Obesity, alcohol, reduced physical activity

The increase in the number of deaths from colon cancer among young people is worrying, according to La Vecchia. Ultimately, diagnostic and treatment options have actually improved. Even overall, rates of bowel cancer in people aged 25 to 49 in the EU have not improved significantly: La Vecchia and his team describe only a small decrease from 2.86 to 2.79 per 100,000 men and from 2 .40 to 2.20 per 100,000 women.

The research team sees a possible cause for the trend in a higher proportion of overweight young people. Other possible factors include increased alcohol consumption and decreased physical activity. For La Vecchia, it is now a matter of expanding early detection – for example via colonoscopy – to younger groups of people. In Switzerland, appropriate preventive tests are recommended from the age of 50. The costs for this are therefore reimbursed by the health insurer.

Source: Blick