LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Dawson's Creek star James Van Der Beek died this week, less than two years after he announced he had colorectal cancer. He was only 48, and that type of cancer is becoming more deadly among people under 50. NPR's Yuki Noguchi is here to talk more about this. Good morning.
YUKI NOGUCHI, BYLINE: Good morning, Leila.
FADEL: Yuki, what is happening with colorectal cancer, and how does it stack up against other cancers?
NOGUCHI: You know, you could say colorectal cancer is bucking the trends with this disease. You know, overall, cancer survival is a great news story. You know, 70% of people diagnosed with some form of cancer today live five or more years, which is a massive improvement over just a couple of decades, you know, and that's largely thanks to better technology, you know, to detect or target cancer for therapy.
But then there's the baffling story of colorectal cancer, which is now the third most common cancer. It's less common than lung or breast, but it's now the biggest cancer killer for those under 50. And, in fact, if you look at older people, colorectal cancer death rates are declining. Death rates from the most common cancers among young people are also declining, again, except for colorectal cancer. And that's increasing at a very rapid rate of 1.1% every year for the past two decades, according to the American Cancer Society.
FADEL: Why?
NOGUCHI: Yeah. I mean, that is a big question. Why are these rates increasing? There are theories that diet or environmental factors may be driving up these, you know, new cancer death rates. But there are still no definitive answers as to why it's increasing.
FADEL: In 2021, the recommended age for colonoscopy screenings went down from age 50 to 45. Has that helped catch more of these cancers?
NOGUCHI: It has. Colonoscopy recommendations were changed precisely because of this trend of seeing more advanced disease occurring in younger patients. And, in fact, now, you know, half of colorectal cancer cases in this age group are diagnosed between the ages of 45 and 49. So, you know, colorectal cancers tend to grow slowly, so they're quite treatable if caught early, which makes detection so critical.
But one of the problems among younger adults - and, you know, this can be true of many cancers - is that they're less likely to suspect cancer and therefore more likely to ignore symptoms. And that's why it's often caught at a later stage for younger patients. The symptoms to watch for in this case are changes in bowel habits, abdominal pain or rectal bleeding. You should also say, Leila, that, you know, access to screening is a perennial issue. You know, you consistently see racial disparities impact screening and survival rates.
FADEL: So what are some of the strategies to improve detection early?
NOGUCHI: There can be strong genetic or hereditary drivers of cancers, especially, you know, early-onset cancers. So if you're at a higher risk because of family history, getting screened earlier than age 45 is probably a good idea. And also, you know, cancer is a complex disease, and lifestyle, especially not smoking or drinking alcohol or getting lots of good diet and exercise are both preventative and good for recovery.
FADEL: NPR health correspondent Yuki Noguchi. Thank you so much for your reporting.
NOGUCHI: Thank you.
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