Yahoo News: Doctors see rising rates of colon cancer in younger people
While overall rates of colorectal cancer deaths and diagnoses in the total population are declining, those rates are increasing among young people.
"Cancer is rising in younger patients, and it's disturbing," Rekha Chaudhary, MD, University of Cincinnati Cancer Center physician-researcher and adjunct professor in UC's College of Medicine, said in a recent Ohio Department of Health press conference.
Among those 55 and younger, colorectal cancer rates have been increasing by 1% to 2% a year since about the mid-1990s, and deaths have risen about 1% per year since the mid-2000s, according to the American Cancer Society. Colorectal cancer is the second highest cause of cancer death in the United States.
While research into the cause of this increase is ongoing, experts are focusing on environmental factors, long-term generational changes in diet and the effect of stress.
"The World Health Organization recommends 20-25 grams of fiber a day. The average American gets 15 grams of fiber a day," Chaudhary said. "...It's a lot of fiber, but that is so important for the food for our bacteria, the good bacteria, to decrease the colorectal cancer risks."
Read the Yahoo News story, originally published in the Dayton Daily News.
Featured photo at top of a medical professional holding a colonoscope. Photo/robertprzybysz/iStock.
Related Stories
President picks exceptional talent
April 28, 2021
The University of Cincinnati 2021 Presidential Leadership Medal of Excellence Awards honor six undergraduate scholars for scholarship, leadership, character, service and the ideals of the university. Awardees are spotlighted for exceptional academics, creativity, community service and innovation.
Grad students earn president's highest honor
April 28, 2021
The University of Cincinnati 2021 Presidential Medal of Graduate Student Excellence Awards honor three graduate scholars for scholarship, leadership, character, service and the ideals of the university. Awardees are spotlighted for exceptional academics, creativity, community service and innovation.
Finding community and building a future
July 9, 2021
As a University of Cincinnati College of Medicine student, Sarah Appeadu, MD, ’21, remembers journaling on the “3 Cs” that got her through medical school: Community, community, community. Now, when she lists the people who supported her through four years of training—the last year in a global pandemic—it keeps growing: her family, her church, her classmates, and the college’s Office of Student Affairs and Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. “I look back and it was such a crucial time to really be nurtured in that way,” she says. “I’m so thankful that I had those people. It shows being around the right people really mattered. That’s my same hope for residency even.”
New York Times: Flint Weighs Scope of Harm to Children Caused by Lead in Water
February 1, 2016
Kim Dietrich, a professor of environmental health at UC's College of Medicine, is quoted in this story on the medical problems that could develop among the thousands of young children exposed to lead-contaminated water in Flint, Mich.
Cancer-Causing Gene Found in Plasma May Help Predict Outcomes for Patients
February 18, 2016
Researchers at the University of Cincinnati have discovered that a human cancer-causing gene, called DEK, can be detected in the plasma of head and neck cancer patients.
UC Receives $1.9 Million to Study Pain
February 15, 2016
Jun-Ming Zhang, MD, of the UC College of Medicine, is the principal investigator of a $1.95 million grant to study the interacting roles of the sympathetic and sensory nervous and immune systems in back and neuropathic pain models.
MD Magazine: Generic Drug Equally Effective in Epilespy
February 22, 2016
Michael Privitera, MD, a professor of neurology at UC's College of Medicine and director of the Epilepsy Center at the UC Neuroscience Institute, is featured in this story about research he led that examined the efficacy of generic drug substitution for epilepsy.
UC to Host Regional Conference for Latino Medical Student Association
February 10, 2016
The University of Cincinnati chapter of the Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA) will host a Midwest regional conference Feb. 26-28, 2016, at the College of Medicine.
Heart Disease Still Top Killer of American Women and Men, Symptoms Differ
February 1, 2016
Women tend to get palpitations, shortness of breath and "sharp" chest pain when suffering heart attacks, explains Stephanie Dunlap, DO, in the UC College of Medicine.
Philosophy Professor Explores Fine Lines Between Right and Wrong in March 29 Public Lecture
March 13, 2016
What distinguishes psychopaths from the rest of us? UC Professor Heidi Maibom offers some clues at a 3:30 p.m. lecture, March 29, in the Russell C. Myers Alumni Center.