It’s a worrying health trend that is baffling doctors: the sharp rise in young people being diagnosed with bowel cancer.
Cases of the deadly disease have surged by 52 per cent in 25-49 year-olds over the last 30 years, according to studies.
Now, three of the world’s leading specialists in bowel health have weighed in, giving their intriguing potential explanations for the trend.
Perhaps the most concerning is the idea, posed by Dr Michelle Hughes, a gastroenterologist at Yale Medicine, is that the rise could lie with our increasing use of microscopic chemicals that are in everyday items — from food containers to fruits and vegetables.
These substances are known medically as endrochrine disrupting chemicals — ‘small airborne particles and chemical pollutants that disturb the healthy balance of bacteria in our intestines’, Dr Hughes explained.
‘This could cause inflammation and stress that can lead to cancer.
‘People born after 1950 might be more at risk because they have been exposed to more environmental changes and pollutants throughout their lives.’
One example of an endrochrine disrupting chemical that experts are becoming increasingly concerned about is pesticides; substances used in the production of fruit and vegetables.
One study , published in the journal Frontiers in Cancer and Society, suggested expose to agricultural pesticides could be as bad as tobacco smoke for increasing our risk of certain cancers
One study, published in the journal Frontiers in Cancer and Society, suggested expose to agricultural pesticides could be as bad as tobacco smoke for increasing our risk of certain cancers.
The chemicals that are used to control weeds and insects can linger on fruit and vegetables, meaning we may be ingesting them in small quantities on a regular basis.
Researchers from Colorado‘s Rocky Vista University looked at 69 different pesticides — including the agricultural weedkiller 2,4-dichloroacetic acid and glyphosate which are used in the UK — and warned about the harms of exposure to a ‘cocktail’ of different chemicals.
They found that areas with heavy agricultural production and pesticide exposure were associated with an increased incidence of bowel cancer.
Results also suggested exposure was linked with the development of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, leukemia and cancers of the bladder, colon, lung and pancreas.
However, researchers only highlight the association between pesticides and cancer, not evidence that it causes it.
Pesticides have previously been associated with neurological disorders, hormonal disruptions, damaging DNA and causing inflammation — which could increase cancer risk.
World-leading specialists also suggest the rise in cancer cases are a result of poor diets.
Eating large amounts of ultra-processed foods (UPFs), such as sugary drinks, crisps and sweets, raises the risk of several types of cancer.
Diets full of UPFs not only promote weight gain, which can increase your risk of cancer, but they also lack fibre which is vital for a healthy digestive system.
That’s why renowned nutrition scientist Professor Tim Spector, founder of the popular Zoe diet app, told Newsweek that eating fibre-rich foods such as fruit, vegetables, whole grains and nuts is crucial.
He explained that when it comes to protecting yourself against bowel cancer, it’s not just about ‘avoiding the bad stuff’ but also giving your body food that helps it ‘thrive’.
Fibre helps to regulate bowel movements and reduce the time harmful substances are in contact with the colon, Professor Spector said.
Non-biological factors could also be playing a part in a rise in bowel cancer diagnoses.
Increased awareness of the disease thanks to the likes of Dame Deborah James, who died from bowel cancer aged 40 in 2022, and improved diagnostic techniques, are thought to have played a role in increasing the number of young people getting diagnosed.
Logically, the more young people know the symptoms of bowel cancer the more likely they to getting checked out as a result.
But Dr Anne Mongiu, a colorectal surgeon at Smilow Cancer Hospital , US, warned that symptoms such as a change of bowel habits, blood in stool, tiredness and abdominal pain are still often mistaken for ‘less serious’ conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
She urged all age groups to recognise the warning signs of bowel cancer and seek medical attention.
