Experts are baffled by higher rates of colon cancer among young people, and they believe a slew of environmental factors could be to blame.
What's happening?
As detailed by Business Insider, young colon cancer rates in the United States have been increasing by about 3% annually since the early 1990s, according to the National Cancer Institute, with people born after the 1960s having a higher risk than older generations.
"The rise that we're seeing cannot just be accounted for by inherited differences," said Dr. Marios Giannakis, a cancer researcher at the Dana-Farber Gastrointestinal Cancer Center.
Research suggests that multiple factors are likely behind the uptick of cases, including microplastic and air pollution, disrupted sleep cycles due to artificial light in homes, and antibiotics in meat production.
Dr. Heinz-Josef Lenz, co-lead of the University of Southern California Cancer Center's gastrointestinal cancer program, told BI that even though the increase in colon cancer doesn't appear to be genetic, a person's genes may impact how they respond to environmental factors.
"When you are 16 years old or 20 years old, you cannot blame [colon cancer] on diet or exercise or obesity — it's just too short," Dr. Lenz said. "We're just scratching the surface on better understanding the impact of the parents, particularly in the young onset: was their exposure part of it, or not?"
Why is this concerning?
Colon cancer is "the second-most common cause of cancer deaths" in men and women combined, according to the American Cancer Society.
Some factors thought to be contributing to colon cancer in young people might be easier to solve than others. For example, turning off non-essential lights, avoiding screens at bedtime, and installing blackout curtains could support a healthier sleep cycle — not to mention benefit wildlife negatively impacted by artificial light. And in addition to being budget-friendly, adopting a less meat-heavy diet is also known to lower the risk of certain diseases.
However, if microplastics are indeed contributing to the rise in diagnoses, the world has a herculean task to limit the damage. The Center for Biological Diversity estimates that plastics will exceed the number of fish in our oceans by 2050 if we continue to consume and discard the material — which takes tens to hundreds of years to break down — at the current rate.
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But until researchers discover a definitive answer to the rise of colon cancer in young people, Dr. Cassandra Fritz — a gastroenterologist and colon cancer researcher at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis — told BI that people should "focus on the stuff we can change."
That includes getting screened for this potentially survivable disease, exercising regularly, and not smoking, as well as reducing your consumption of ultra-processed foods, sugary beverages, and alcohol.
She also recommended heating food in glass or ceramic containers rather than plastic. That's because "the process of chemical migration and the shedding of microplastics both speed up when plastic is heated," according to Beyond Plastics.
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