Colorectal cancer is surging in an unexpected group and its developing differently

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the US, but its target population is changing.While rates have steadily decreased for more than a decade in adults over 65, cases among another population are suddenly exploding.Now, scientists are racing to understand why this shift is happening — and why these new cases are so aggressive.You may have seen that colorectal cancer is rising among people younger than 50.However, new research reveals that this increase is most dramatic among a younger population within that group: kids aged 10 to young adults in their early 20s.In fact, one study shows that the younger the group, the more stark the increase: colorectal cancer (CRC) surged a shocking six-fold in kids aged 10 to 14 from 1999 to 2020.The disease more than quadrupled among teens 15 to 19, and almost doubled in young adults aged 20 to 24 during the same time period.Another study showed that during that time frame, CRC incidence was relatively stable from 1999 to 2012.Then, incidence among children ages 10 to 14 began climbing at an estimated 70.54% annually from 2012 to 2015 — a rate that compounds to a nearly 400% increase over those three years.But rising cases are only part of why these colorectal cancer trends are so troubling.Experts are concerned not only about the rising rates, but about how different the CRC behaves when younger folks develop the disease.When cancer is found in younger patients, a majority of cases are advanced, aggressive cancers: Stage 3 or 4, new research shows.

And these younger patients are more likely to have worse outcomes — after treatment, their cancer is more likely to return, another paper suggests.“We do feel like it is a bit of a distinct disease than what we’re seeing in older adults,” pediatric surgeon Dr.Erica Arnold told Live Science.Arnold led research studying young CRC patients, finding that patients were diagnosed quickly after getting their first symptoms — about 12 weeks.The find...