Colorectal cancer cases rising in younger adults, screenings are down
The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected cancer diagnoses and treatments. Colonoscopies, for instance, have decreased 90% in the past year. While screenings are down, experts say that the number of young people developing colorectal cancer before 50 continues to increase. This trend began in the early 1990s.
"The majority of those increases are in people ages 40 to 49, but half of young-onset colorectal cancer patients are under 40 years old," says Dr. Lisa Boardman, a Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist. "We used to think of colorectal cancer as a disease of aging. With the increase in the number of cases of colorectal cancer globally, there are clearly other factors in addition to aging that contribute to the development of colorectal cancer."
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