There are renewed calls for the bowel cancer screening age to be lowered after an Australian study identified a rise in the number of people under 50 with bowel cancer.
The study looked at 557 patients who had received a colonoscopy between 2013 and 2017. One in five (21.5%) colonoscopies performed on patients under 50 identified adenomas (benign tumours) with 1.9% ended in a bowel cancer diagnosis.
Overall, bowel cancer was found to be the leading cause of cancer death in young males (30 – 34 years) and females (25 – 34 years) and the study’s authors say this should prompt a review of testing procedures for younger people.
Colorectal surgeon and Bowel Cancer Australia Director, Associate Professor Graham Newstead AM said: “A lower start-age for bowel cancer screening could be part of the solution, along with improved symptom awareness among both patients and GPs.”
“Over 1,500 bowel cancer cases occur in people under age 50 each year, so we need to be bold and begin screening those between 45-49 while also increasing screening participation rates for those over 50,” he added.
These findings are backed by recent research which has found a significant year-on-year increase in the number of people under 50 diagnosed with colon and rectal cancer.
Just another example of a situation where you can never be too careful!
