Alarm Raised Over Aggressive Colon Cancer in Teenagers, Experts Urge Vigilance

Cancer doctors are warning of an increase in aggressive colon cancer cases among teenagers, a trend observed alongside rising diagnoses in individuals under 50. Researchers from the U.S. have noted that the disease is becoming more prevalent in adolescents and often presents as a more lethal form compared to that seen in older adults.

A study examining patients aged 21 and under across 34 U.S. hospitals found that 45 percent of these young patients died and 37 percent experienced cancer recurrence within a year of diagnosis. This contrasts with the average survival rate for bowel cancer across all age groups in the UK, which stands around 60 percent.

Physicians from the Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute, who led the study, are now encouraging medical professionals to be more attentive to less obvious symptoms of the disease in younger individuals. The study identified back or abdominal pain as the most common symptom, reported by nearly three-quarters of adolescent patients. Other less frequent symptoms included rectal bleeding, changes in bowel habits, and weight loss.

Experts attribute the high fatality rate to a combination of the cancer's aggressive nature and diagnostic delays stemming from the subtlety of initial symptoms. Colorectal cancer rates have notably surged specifically in the under-50 demographic over the past two decades. Contributing factors suggested by experts include poor diets, sedentary lifestyles, and increasing obesity rates.

"Colorectal cancer is, unfortunately, becoming more common in adolescents and young adults and represents a different disease than colorectal cancer diagnosed in older adults," stated Dr. Erica Arnold, a pediatric surgeon and lead author of the study. "When diagnosed, it is often aggressive and associated with high rates of relapse and mortality."

The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics. The study encompassed 84 patients diagnosed between 2012 and 2023. Patients with pre-existing high-risk factors for bowel cancer, such as inflammatory bowel disease, were excluded from the analysis. The average age of diagnosis was 16.5 years, and one in five patients had a family history of colorectal cancer. Advanced disease, meaning the cancer had already spread to lymph nodes or other organs, was common at presentation among these young patients.

Dr. Arnold emphasized that children and adolescents without known risk factors often face diagnostic delays, and many do not have a known family history of the disease. She urged physicians to consider bowel cancer as a potential cause for telltale symptoms in young people, even in the absence of established risk factors.

In England, a separate major study identified obesity as a key factor in the rising cancer rates among young people. Eleven types of cancer, including bowel cancer, have shown increasing incidence among individuals aged 20 to 49. Obesity is highlighted as the only behavioral risk factor that has been on the rise in younger adults over the last two decades, with over a third of British teenagers now classified as overweight or obese, while more traditional risk factors like smoking and alcohol consumption have declined. Researchers have also pointed to ultra-processed foods, persistent environmental chemicals, and antibiotic use as potential contributors to the increase in deadly cancers among young people, though much of the rise remains unexplained.