‘Alarming’: Colorectal cancer cases up 500% in children, study finds
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Colorectal cancer cases are up 500% in children over the last two decades, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Cases were also up 333% in those ages 15-19 and 185% in those ages 20-24, according to the study. However, Moffitt Cancer Center notes that while the rate increase is high, the overall number of cases is still low.
The data was presented Monday during Digestive Disease Week.
According to Moffitt Cancer Center, in 2020, there were 0.6 children (10-14) per 100,000 that were diagnosed with colorectal cancer. That number was 0.1 per 100,000 in 1999.
“These findings are definitely alarming to our society,” Tiago Biachi, an oncologist at Moffitt Cancer Center, said in a statement. “Obviously, this is not a reason to start screening children with colonoscopy, but to discuss what is behind this phenomenon.”
Biachi said that due to the time it takes colorectal cancer to develop, the children being diagnosed were likely exposed to risk factors at a “very young age.”
Obesity, diets with high amounts of processed foods, a sedentary lifestyle and antibiotics that change a child’s gut microbiome are believed to be factors in the development of colorectal cancer in children, according to Moffitt Cancer Center.
Symptoms include persistent abdominal pain, cramping, a change in bowel habits, unexplained weight loss, constipation, diarrhea or bleeding. Current guidelines recommend colonoscopy screenings beginning at age 45 for those without symptoms. Regardless of age, anyone with symptoms should be screened.
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