Colon cancer becoming more common among millennials, doctors warn

Younger and middle-aged people need to be more watchful for signs of colon cancer, which is increasingly affecting millennials and not being picked up until it is dangerously late.

The journal Annals of Oncology has published research showing "rising death rates from bowel cancer among people aged 25-49 years in the European Union (EU) and the UK" and suggesting excess weight and alcohol were causes.

That followed the American Cancer Society publishing data earlier in January showing a similar rise in the US. "Colorectal cancer was the fourth-leading cause of cancer death in both men and women younger than 50 years in the late-1990s but is now first in men and second in women," the ACS said.

Responding to the ACS data, Yale Medicine surgeon Haddon Pantel said doctors are "seeing a clear uptick in colorectal cancer in younger generations."

One cause is the higher proportion of overweight young people, according to Annals of Oncology researchers, who also pointed to other factors including increased alcohol consumption and reduced physical activity.

The US medical centre Mayo Clinic had earlier in the month warned millennials - mostly people in their 30s and early 40s - that it is "seeing younger patients present with colon cancer" who "also tend to present at a more advanced stage."

Colorectal or bowel cancer is a rising cause of death among younger people even as overall cancer mortality continues to decline and as mortality related to colorectal cancer among older people falls.

"Early onset" colon cancer makes up 10% of cases, according to research published by the New England Journal of Medicine in 2022, where the Mayo Clinic warned that "the incidence is increasing, particularly in high-income countries."

The British Medical Journal in 2019 published data suggesting a rise in the number of young Europeans developing the disease.

The problem with detection is that "symptoms usually don't appear in early stages of the disease," according to the Mayo Clinic. At the same time people can be confounded by "a lot of the warning symptoms” - including rectal bleeding, anaemia, change in bowel habits, ongoing stomach discomfort and unexplained weight loss - which are often signs of less serious conditions.

But such symptoms need to be checked all the same. "Many of the colon cancer symptoms may be symptoms of other health issues so it [is] recommended to talk with your health care team to find out the cause of the problem," the clinic said.

"It's important to recognize colon cancer symptoms and to seek medical attention if you experience them," said Johanna Chan, a Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist.