According to a new study published in the British Journal of Surgery, there has been a substantial rise in the incidence of bowel cancer in younger adults in England.
Researchers at the University of Bristol, the University of the West of England Bristol and University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust analysed 56,134 cases of colorectal cancer over a period of 40 years in England.
The findings indicate an exponential increase in the incidence of bowel cancer among adults aged <50 years over the past 30 years. The increase in incidence is primarily driven by an increase in tumours of lower regions of the bowel, particularly the sigmoid colon and rectum. Although the increase does not appear to have associations with sex or socioeconomic status, some marked geographical variations have been observed. The fastest increase in incidence was seen in the southern regions of England, with more than 10 per cent annual increase in the South West.
Dr David Messenger, the study's corresponding author, said: "Bowel cancer is becoming increasingly common in younger adults. Future research needs to focus on understanding why this trend is occurring and how it might be reversed, potentially through the development of cost-effective testing strategies that detect tumours at an earlier stage or polyps before they become cancerous."
