Traditionally seen as an older person’s disease, colon cancer is skewing younger. Today, more than 10% of cases occur in people under age 50. In response, the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force, experts in evidence-based medicine, now recommends that colon cancer screening start at age 45(link is external and opens in a new window), instead of 50.
“The increasing numbers of young people with colon cancer is a troubling trend, but screening at younger ages should save lives,” says gastroenterologist Joel Gabre, MD, instructor of medicine at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. Gabre also is a researcher on a multidisciplinary team at Columbia trying to figure out why colon cancer, also known as colorectal cancer, is more prevalent than ever.