New research presented at the American Academy of Pediatrics conference has found that colorectal cancer is becoming increasingly common among young patients.
The study, "Clinical Presentation and Epidemiology of Pediatric and Adolescent Colorectal Carcinoma: A Pediatric Surgical Oncology Research Collaborative Study," found that among 84 patients ages 21 and younger, most had aggressive disease that had already progressed to Stage III or Stage IV.
This was the case despite only 20% having a first- or second-degree family history of colorectal cancer.
Researchers found that many signs and symptoms are often overlooked because colorectal cancer remains relatively uncommon in young people.
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They emphasized the importance of taking symptoms such as unexplained weight loss and rectal bleeding seriously.
Other warning signs include lower back pain, abdominal pain and changes in bowel habits.
“Colorectal cancer is, unfortunately, becoming more common in adolescents and young adults and represents a different disease than colorectal cancer diagnosed in older adults,” said study author and pediatric surgery research fellow Erica Arnold, M.D. “When diagnosed, it is often aggressive, presenting with late-stage disease and associated with high rates of disease relapse and mortality.”
According to the report, more than one-third of the patients later developed recurrent disease, and nearly half died as a result of their diagnosis.
