The study included data from the national Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database on more than 258,000 patients diagnosed with either colon or rectal cancer.
Not only did the researchers discover nearly 15 percent of patients are younger than the recommended screening age, these patients were more likely to have a more advanced form of the disease that requires aggressive surgery and/or radiation therapy.
The severity of the colorectal cancer in younger patients may be due in part to the fact that they are frequently diagnosed after the cancer grows so much it becomes symptomatic. Despite the advanced nature of the cancer, younger patients have a five-year survival rate of 21 percent, which is actually higher than the survival rate for older patients (14 percent).
“Colorectal cancer has traditionally been thought of as a disease of the elderly,” said study author Samantha Hendren, MD. “This study is really a wake-up call to the medical community that a relatively large number of colorectal cancers are occurring in people under 50.”
In addition to serving as a wake-up call, the findings of the study suggest there is a need for more awareness of the warning signs of colorectal cancer.
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