Colorectal cancer striking more and more women and young people: study

The incidence of colorectal cancer has been rising in people under the age of 45 for the past 30 years, according to a report released during Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.

Experts are at a loss to explain the increase, but diet, inflammation and the microbiome, or a combination of all three, may be involved.

"Last night I operated on a young lady in her 30s who came in with blocked colorectal cancer," said Dr. Carole Richard, chief of digestive surgery at Montreal's CHUM hospital centre. "The average age of a colorectal cancer diagnosis is 62 or 63. At the CHUM, where we treat more than 300 cases per year, we have gone from 10.7 per cent of cases involving individuals under 50 in 2006 to 16.9 per cent in 2020."

Richard said primary care physicians also have a role to play by realizing that a young patient complaining of rectal bleeding is not necessarily suffering from a minor problem.

"You have to be alert to the different symptoms that even the youngest patients now have," she said. "Like, for example, a young patient who has anorectal bleeding, the first instinct and likelihood is that it's going to be a benign condition, like hemorrhoidal problems. But you have to be vigilant."

On March 4, to raise awareness, several Canadian landmarks -- including the Olympic Stadium in Montreal, the Ferris wheel in Montreal, the Château Frontenac in Quebec City and the ByWard Market sign in Ottawa -- will be lit up in blue to honour those affected by the disease.

Colorectal Cancer Canada estimates that, on average, 68 Canadians are diagnosed with colorectal cancer every day. The disease affects men almost equally.

Nearly 50 per cent of colorectal cancers are reportedly only diagnosed in stages III and IV, when they are more difficult to treat.

The Canadian Cancer Society reminds us that, each year, approximately 7,000 Quebecers are diagnosed with colon cancer, and that 2,700 Quebecers die annually from the disease.

The main symptoms of colorectal cancer are unexplained changes in bowel habits, such as diarrhea or constipation; changes in the size or shape of the stool; blood in or on the stool, ranging from bright red to dark black; persistent abdominal pain or discomfort; and unexplained weight loss.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on March 4, 2022.