Here’s what you need to know about the rising rates of colorectal cancer in children and teens

If you feel like you’re seeing anxiety-inducing headlines colorectal cancer Every time you read the news or scroll through social media, you are not alone. More Young adults are increasingly being diagnosed with this disease. (Even though rates remain stable or fall in older people) and doctors aren’t entirely sure why that is. Now a new study of CDC data, which will be presented at a convened meeting of GI experts digestive disease week Later this month, it’s revealed that rates of colorectal cancer among children and teens are also rising — and the jump has been more dramatic than in other age groups.

Researchers found that between 1999 and 2020, new colorectal cancer diagnoses increased by 500% in children aged 10 to 14 and by 333% in adolescents aged 15 to 19. (For comparison, new diagnoses have increased by about 70% or less for ages 30 to 44.)

If your head perks up after reading that, that’s okay… that’s it. However, the study’s findings Are worrying and Needed Take it seriously, you don’t need to panic. In fact, studies like this can provide you with peace of mind – if you’re armed with the right context. Here’s what we mean.

What is the study on rates of colorectal cancer in children? In fact found

The good news is that the number of children and adolescents suffering from this disease is still very low. Islam Mohammad, MD, the study’s lead researcher and internal medicine resident physician at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, said during a media briefing on May 8. “Although the trends are worrying…we have to be cautious about the data,” says Dr Mohammed.

Here’s what Dr. Mohammed and his colleagues found: In 1999, about one in million children ages 10 to 14 were diagnosed with colorectal cancer, while in 2020, six in one million were diagnosed with colorectal cancer. Had walked – which is still quite rare. Similarly, in 1999, three out of every million adolescents aged 15 to 19 were diagnosed with colorectal cancer, while in 2020, 13 out of every million adolescents were diagnosed with colorectal cancer.

Dr. Mohammed says that just one child suffering from cancer is too many, but this number is still not high enough to regularly screen the youth. Although taking extra precautions may seem like a good idea, unnecessary tests have their own risks, like anxiety, pain, huge medical bills and stressful false positives that require additional follow-up. Instead, Dr. Mohammed says more “tailored approaches should be considered.” He says it might look like a scoring system to calculate the likelihood of a child getting colorectal cancer, which would help determine whether they should be screened. (There is something similar called gale model It is used for breast cancer.)

“I don’t want people to be overly concerned, but I think it’s informative, and it’s extremely important to recognize that this may be an increasing problem in our young pediatric and adolescent patients.” Kathy Eng, MD, director of the Young Adult Cancer Program at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, Tennessee, tells SELF. “Keep in mind, we want patients to be diagnosed first. If we can send them for screening earlier when symptoms develop, we can ideally cure these patients,” Dr. says Eng, who was not involved in the new research.

These findings may lead to early diagnosis

The fact that more children have been diagnosed with colorectal cancer is terrifying, full stop. But without such research, no matter how shaky the findings, doctors may overlook the disease in young people, whose symptoms are often misdiagnosed as such conditions. irritable bowel syndrome And hemorrhoid, says Dr Eng. Constipation, diarrhea, abdominal pain, rectal bleeding and symptoms of anemia (low iron) were the most common symptoms in those included in the study.