The death of the American actor James Van Der Beek, known for the main role in the series “Dawson’s Creek”brought back to the fore a worrying trend observed in recent years: the significant increase in colorectal cancer cases in people under 50 years of age. The exact causes of this development remain unknown and are the subject of intense research, reports AFP.
Van Der Beek died on February 11, at only 48 years old, after being diagnosed in 2023 with stage 3 colorectal cancer, and his case recalls the death of actor Chadwick Boseman, the star of “Black Panther”, who succumbed to the same disease in 2020, at 43 years old, according to the international agency, cited by Agerpres.
A study published last year in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute shows that people born in the 1990s have four times the risk of developing colorectal cancer compared to those born in the 1960s. The analysis included data from Australia, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom.
In the US, the disease has become the leading cause of cancer death among people under the age of 50, according to a study recently published in the journal JAMA. “It’s really scary,” says Helen Coleman, professor of oncology at Queen’s University Belfast, “but it must be said that we are starting from a very low initial level.”
Even so, most cases continue to occur at older ages: only 6% of diagnoses are made in people under 50, according to research in Northern Ireland.
Better screening in the elderly, late diagnosis in the young
In many countries, colorectal cancer rates in the elderly are stabilizing or even decreasing due to screening programs. In contrast, young people are often diagnosed late, because they do not consider themselves at risk, a situation that Van Der Beek also found.
The classic risk factors – being overweight, unhealthy eating, being sedentary, drinking alcohol and smoking – do not fully explain the rapid increase in cases. Many young patients, including the American actor, had a healthy lifestyle.
“I was going to the sauna, taking cold baths…and I had stage 3 cancer without knowing it“, he confessed in December.
New hypotheses: the microbiome, bacterial toxins and antibiotics
Researchers are now exploring less obvious leads. A study published in Nature identified a possible “major clue“: specific mutations associated with colibactin, a toxin produced by certain strains of E. coli, are much more common in young colorectal cancer patients than in older ones. The finding suggests a possible link between the microbiome and the development of the disease, but requires further confirmation.
Other studies indicate that repeated use of antibiotics may be associated with early-onset forms of colorectal cancer.
“There is probably no single cause.We see multiple subtypes of the disease, suggesting different mechanisms“warns Jenny Seligmann, researcher at the University of Leeds.
Signs that should not be ignored
Shortly before his death, James Van Der Beek made a public call for testing:
“If you’re 45 or older, see a doctor!” Symptoms that should raise questions include: persistent diarrhea or constipation, blood in the stool, unexplained weight loss, severe fatigue
Earlier screening: an increasingly necessary measure
Amid an increase in cases among young people, the United States lowered the age for screening from 50 to 45 in 2021. More and more voices are calling for other countries to adopt the same strategy. Currently, the UK and France start screening at 50.
