New young cancer bombshell: Rectal cancer deaths accelerating at an alarming pace in millennials… the signs to watch out for as experts warn: ‘It’s striking earlier and killing faster’

A form of bowel cancer is becoming increasingly common in young people, a worrying study suggests.

While cases in older adults have fallen thanks to screening and awareness, diagnoses in young people have continued to rise year over year.

Now researchers say much of this increase is due to rectal cancer.

The disease is a type of colorectal cancer that develops in the last part of the large intestine, just above the anus.

The American Cancer Society estimates that bowel cancer diagnoses in adults under 50 have increased about 3 percent annually over the past two decades. Almost half of patients are now under 65 years of age.

A separate study also found that colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death in Americans under 50.

Using more than 20 years of CDC death records, researchers in New York found that deaths from rectal cancer in people under 45 are increasing three times faster than colon cancer in the same age groups.

Even more worrying, if current trends continue, rectal cancer death rates are expected to continue rising for at least another decade.

The findings, which will be presented at next month’s Digestive Diseases Week conference, follow a new report naming rectal cancer as the biggest driver of the early-onset bowel cancer epidemic.

In an announcement highlighting the alarming data titled ‘Rectal cancer appears earlier and kills faster’, the authors wrote: ‘Rectal cancer deaths are accelerating among older millennials, with the increase in mortality far outpacing that of colon cancer.’

Mythili Menon Pathiyil, a gastroenterologist at SUNY Upstate Medical University in New York and lead author of the study, said: ‘Colorectal cancer is no longer considered a disease predominantly of older adults.

‘Rectal cancer is becoming a growing problem, especially in younger individuals, and we need to take early action to reverse this trend.’

Experts said the results could support new screening approaches focusing on the lower bowel and urged young adults not to ignore warning signs such as bleeding, abdominal pain or changes in bowel habits.

Bowel cancer symptoms can also be caused by other conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome; This can lead to them being ignored or shrugged off until the disease progresses further.

Early diagnosis is vital in bowel cancer; If diagnosed early, about nine out of ten patients survive for at least five years, but once the cancer spreads, the survival rate drops to just 10 percent.

Dr, a GP at the Lagom Clinic in Bristol, previously told the Daily Mail. Jack Ogden listed several mild symptoms that are often overlooked or confused with a different disease or condition.

These included iron deficiency due to internal bleeding, losing weight without changing your diet or exercise habits, and experiencing bloating and abdominal pain after eating.

He also said this Changes in bowel habits such as constipation and diarrhea should never be ignored.

Another red flag is suddenly noticing narrower stools for no obvious reason.

‘Pencil-thin stools may be an indication that the tumor is blocking the colon, causing it to compress the stool into a thinner shape,’ Dr Ogden said.

Worryingly, blood in the stool may not always be detected immediately.

Dr Ogden said the blood could be dark or occult and could only be detected by stool tests.

If the stool is dark red or black, this may be a sign that bleeding is occurring in the upper parts of the intestine due to cancer.

In contrast, bright red blood is most commonly caused by hemorrhoids, also known as hemorrhoids.

Anyone experiencing any of these symptoms, or a combination of them, for three weeks or longer is recommended to talk to their doctor, regardless of their age.

Bowel cancer is responsible for around 17,700 deaths in Britain each year and is the second most common cause of death from cancer nationwide.

The latest statistics published by Cancer Research UK have also revealed that overall cancer diagnosis rates for 25 to 49-year-olds in Britain have increased by 24 per cent.

And cases of bowel cancer in under-50s are steadily rising across the US, shattering the long-held belief that it is a disease primarily caused by old age.

The latest figures from the American Cancer Society show that three in four young patients are diagnosed after the disease has spread locally or to distant parts of the body; This makes treatment difficult.

When caught early and still confined to the intestine, five-year survival rates are around 91 percent. When it spreads to nearby organs, this rate drops to 74 percent, and when it spreads to distant organs, it drops to 13 percent.

Experts are still trying to determine why rectal cancer is increasing so sharply in young adults. But growing evidence points to modern diets that are high in fat and low in fibre.

Low-fiber diets can slow digestion, meaning waste remains in the lower intestine longer, giving potentially harmful bacteria and cancer-linked chemicals more time to damage cells.

Environmental pollutants such as processed meats and pesticides may also play a role by increasing exposure to substances found in feces.

For the latest study, researchers analyzed U.S. death records from 1999 to 2023 covering adults ages 20 to 44 using the CDC WONDER database.

They then examined how death rates varied by age, gender, ethnicity and region, before using machine learning to predict trends out to 2035 if current patterns continued.

Full results have not yet been published, but initial findings suggest that bowel cancer death rates are increasing overall; Rectal cancer deaths are increasing two to three times faster than colon cancer in every demographic group studied.

The starkest warning comes for adults aged 35 to 44, where deaths from rectal cancer are predicted to continue rising through 2035. Colon cancer deaths in the same age group were increasing more slowly.

“Our study shows that most of the increase in colorectal cancers is due to rectal cancer, and if we don’t change what we do now, it will likely get worse over time,” Pathiyil said.

Researchers also found that Hispanic adults and people living in Western states saw the largest increases in rectal cancer deaths.

Experts don’t yet know why, but CDC data shows that Hispanic adults are less likely than white Americans to undergo routine screening tests such as colonoscopies. Language barriers and reduced access to care can also delay diagnosis and treatment.

Pathiyil said the findings may prompt doctors to consider earlier bowel cancer screening and greater use of sigmoidoscopy, a test that specifically checks the rectum and lower colon, in young adults.

‘This is about changing the way we think about it rather than changing the rules overnight; “It’s about recognizing that colorectal cancer in young adults is no longer rare and needs to be intervened earlier,” he said.