Bowel cancer is rising in younger people around the world
More and more people under 50 have been diagnosed with bowel cancer in different parts of the world over the past few decades
By Grace Wade
11 December 2024
It isn’t entirely clear why bowel cancer is on the rise among adults under 50
STEVE GSCHMEISSNER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
Rates of bowel cancer in younger adults have increased in countries around the world, though the trend appears to be most common in high-income nations.
Previous studies have shown that bowel, or colorectal, cancer rates have grown over the past few decades in this age group across several Western countries, including the US, Canada, Australia and the UK. This has led to speculation about whether Western lifestyles, such as diets high in meat or processed food, may be to blame.
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To better understand the extent of the problem, Hyuna Sung at the American Cancer Society in Atlanta, Georgia, and her colleagues examined rates of bowel cancer in 50 countries and territories across the world. They generally collected data on its incidence from 1975 until 2017 using a World Health Organization database, although some countries didn’t start reporting this information until several years after 1975.
The team found that bowel cancer rates in people aged between 25 and 49 rose in 27 countries and territories. These include non-Western ones, such as Japan, and less wealthy nations, like Turkey, raising the possibility that Western lifestyles alone may not be behind the trend.
The increase is also unlikely to be related to improvements in screening, as most countries don’t routinely test people for bowel cancer until they are 50, the researchers wrote in their paper.
