Millions across the world are at a serious risk of developing deadly colon or colorectal cancer before they turn 50 due to inflammatory bowel disease, says one of Britain’s top experts. The lifelong condition - which triggers debilitating stomach pains, raises the risk of cancer by around 600 per cent, says Professor Sarah Berry, a nutrition scientist at King’s College, London.
According to doctors, inflammatory bowel disease – also known as IBD- causes long-term inflammation of the digestive tract, leading to severe chronic diarrhoea, rectal bleeding, abdominal pain, fever, and fatigue. In the long run, it damages the lining of the bowels, increasing the chances of life-threatening tumours forming.
“IBD patients have a higher risk of early-age colorectal cancer than the rest of the population,” Prof Berry said in an interview with the Metro. “Research in Sweden has shown the condition leads to a six-fold increase in diagnoses. The main theory is that the persistent inflammation in the bowels triggers the cancer,” she added.
Of late, doctors across the world have expressed worries that colon cancer is rising significantly among young people.
Statistics say IBD affects roughly 5 million people across the world, with prevalence rising by over 47 per cent between 1990 and 2019, primarily due to industrialization. The highest prevalence is in North America and Europe, while cases in children and the elderly are increasing worldwide.
Since the cancer rarely has any early symptoms, most cases are diagnosed late when the cancer has already spread, and the doctors find it hard to treat. Experts say global cases rose from 3.32 million in 1990 to 4.90 million in 2019.
IBD, which includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, increases the risk of colorectal cancer primarily through chronic, long-term inflammation of the intestinal lining. This persistent inflammation causes continuous cell turnover, oxidative DNA damage, and genetic mutations, leading to a progression from inflammation to dysplasia and, eventually, to adenocarcinoma.
According to experts, while the key risk factors include the severity of active inflammation, most people ignore it early on, thinking it may be due to digestive issues, and it keeps increasing to the point of causing cancer. Doctors say the cancer risk rises sharply in people who:
According to doctors, effectively treating IBD could lower the risk of colon cancer occurring. Both Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis can be controlled by drugs called biologics - injections that limit the damage caused by the immune system to the body.
However, many IBD patients do not receive timely treatment due to a lack of diagnosis.
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