Bowel cancer rises to be a common disease in younger groups

Colorectal or bowel cancer affects about 50,000 people a year in Brazil. According to the National Cancer Institute (Inca) it is the third most common type of cancer in the country and affects men and women equally. In recent research, it has been revealed that the disease has become more common in young people; In the past, it particularly affected the elderly. According to Professor Paulo Hoff, head of the Oncology discipline at the Department of Radiology and Oncology at the USP Medical School and director of the Research Center at the Cancer Institute of the State of São Paulo (Icesp), the practice of physical exercises and a good diet are essential for prevention.

Change
First, understanding the reason for this change in the group affected by the disease is essential. “This is a difficult question to answer, we have a constant increase in the incidence of cancer in general terms. Currently, we have 700,000 new cases of cancer in the country annually, 20 years ago we had half that number. In general, we observed a global increase in this incidence”, explains the expert.

It is also noted that the different Brazilian regions do not have the same socioeconomic scenario, which affects the frequency of cancer and other diseases. “Thinking about regionalization is essential. In the North and Northeast regions, for example, this type of cancer is not as frequent as in other parts of the country. When you think about a prevention project, you need to think about regionalization”, says Hoff.

Prevention
“When we think about the age for carrying out active prevention, we have to take into account the difficulty of performing the test, its cost and the incidence of complications when compared to the probability of this test showing a positive result”, evaluates the specialist.

In the past, the average age of patients with colon and rectal cancer was 65 years; for this reason, prevention began to be carried out with individuals from the age of 50. However, with the increase in cases among younger people, this scenario will change. “I believe that, in Brazil, we can use regionalization so that, in places where this disease appears more frequently, preventive exams start to be carried out from the age of 40”, clarifies the professor.

Hoff comments that some of the aspects that seem to be particularly influencing the occurrence of the disease are factors that involve modern civilization: “Obesity, sedentary lifestyle, diets rich in ultra-processed foods are some of these agents. People need to start thinking about long-term prevention.”

Symptoms
The professor explains that, in the case of bowel cancer, the tumor can expand without the great presence of signs, but some of the symptoms that can be observed are the following: blood in the stool, changes in bowel habits, abdominal pain and, in advanced cases, nausea and vomiting may be present.

It is important to emphasize that early detection is essential for a good result in the treatment. With the advancement of science, it has become possible to cure patients also in the metastatic phase, but prevention and treatment from the initial phase remain the best paths to cure.