colorectal cancer is the third-most diagnosed cancer in canada, with just under 27,000 new cases arising in 2020,
according to cancer.ca
. it is the second leading cause of death from cancer in men and third in women. with approximately 73 canadians receiving the dire diagnosis — and another 27 dying from the disease — every day, identifying new causes and interventions have become a priority among researchers.
the team from ub and the university of utah arrived at their conclusions after studying data from more than 1,500 cases of early-onset colon cancers included in the utah cancer registry. “unique utah resources, including a decades old national cancer institute statewide cancer registry and computerized genealogy data for the majority of the population, made this important collaboration possible,” said lisa cannon-albright, professor and leader of the genetic epidemiology program in the department of internal medicine at the university of utah school of medicine.
the study also found that people with a first-degree relative who have been diagnosed with early-onset colorectal cancer were found to face a 2.6-fold higher risk of developing the disease at any age. the risk is 1.96 and 1.3 times greater, respectively, when dealing with second and third degree relatives. the risk to all degrees of relatives was found to be higher than the typical risk of colon cancer at any age.
previous research in the u.s.
has recommended lowering the age
of colorectal cancer screening among individuals of average risk from 50 to 45 to account for rising rates of the disease in younger adults. the task force that made the recommendation settled on the age of 45 based on research that showed the five-year head start will prevent more deaths while introducing minimal increases to potential colonoscopy complications. the task force still recommends selectively screening people between the ages of 76 and 85 because more rigorous testing produces relatively small increases to the lifespan of this age group.
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