Dr. Howard Smith Oncall

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/V6FqGGLJLo8 While the incidence of bowel cancer dropped in middle-aged adults 50+ over the decade ending in 2014, colon and rectal cancer is on the rise for younger adults.  This result is now reported in the journal The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology, and it is derived from a tabulation of cancer registry data from the westernized countries Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Britain, Ireland, Denmark, and Norway. The numbers are small but significant.  While the bowel cancer incidence was dropping by 2% on average in older persons, it was rising 2.5% in the younger adults.  The rise is particularly significant for rectal cancer. The study authors speculate that better screening for young adults should be considered, since most surveillance doesn’t begin before the ages of 45-50 except in those with a strong family history of bowel disease.  With the advent of cheap at-home fecal immune test or FIT kits, it may be prudent to begin that type of screening on a periodic basis in