Colorectal cancer, a leading cause of cancer-related deaths, has shown changing trends over the years.
A recent study found that improvements in diagnosis and survival rates have started to slow down, especially among adults in their middle ages.
The Study and Its Discoveries
Caitlin C. Murphy and her team from the University of Texas Health Science Center delved into a large data set, spanning 28 years from 1992 to 2019, to understand the trends related to colorectal cancer.
Here’s what they found:
Earlier Successes, Recent Plateaus: For adults aged 60 to 74, the number of new colorectal cancer cases dropped initially but then started to level off around 2011.
Young Adults Face Rising Cases: On the flip side, the number of new cases consistently rose for those aged 30 to 54.
Mortality Trends: Up until the mid-2000s, there was a significant drop in deaths related to this type of cancer.
But after this period, the decrease in death rates began to slow, especially for those aged 55 to 69. Interestingly, how these death rates changed was different based on one’s race or ethnicity.
Survival Over 5 Years: The number of people who survived for at least 5 years after being diagnosed with colorectal cancer improved annually by 0.55% from 1992 to 2005.
But after 2005, this improvement rate nearly stalled, with an annual increase of only 0.04%.
Possible Reasons Behind the Trends
Why are we seeing these shifts in trends? The researchers suggest that a possible reason is that fewer adults in their 50s and 60s are getting screened for colorectal cancer.
Early detection plays a crucial role in effectively treating this cancer, so lower screening rates might explain the slowing progress.
Final Thoughts
This study shines a light on the need for continued vigilance and awareness about colorectal cancer, especially the importance of early screening.
While we’ve made significant strides in battling this disease, it’s clear that there’s more work to be done to ensure everyone, regardless of age, race, or ethnicity, has the best chance to beat it.
Note: One of the researchers involved in the study had associations with the pharmaceutical and health tech sectors.
If you care about colon health, please read studies about whether aspirin could lower colon cancer risk in older people, and this drug may lower death risk in colon cancer.
For more information about colon health, please see recent studies about how to protect yourself from colon cancer, and results showing this vitamin level in the body is linked to colon cancer risk.
The study was published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
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