by Doctors are advised to watch for iron deficiency as a warning sign of colon cancer in young people.
A new analysis of CDC data showed that deaths from the disease increased by just under 1% since 2005 among Americans aged 20 to 54.
It found that mortality was highest among younger people, whose tumors are often diagnosed at later stages, perhaps because doctors are less likely to suspect cancer.
The researchers behind the report are now urging doctors to maintain “low clinical suspicion” in younger patients who suffer from a change in bowel habits, bleeding or iron deficiency.
Iron deficiency can cause anemia, a condition in which the body lacks enough healthy blood cells to circulate oxygen.
According to a 2024 study published in the Journal of American Medical Association, about three in ten adults may suffer from some form of iron deficiency. UK data suggests that 3 percent of men and 8 percent of women also suffer from iron deficiency.
Some symptoms of iron deficiency include fatigue, weakness, pale skin, cold hands and feet, headaches and dizziness.
Iron is found in large quantities in red meat. Yet many doctors recommend that people reduce their intake of this food group to reduce their risk of colorectal cancer. It is also found in foods like spinach, beans and seafood.
The graph above shows the increase in colorectal cancer among Americans under the age of 50 over the past two decades.
Research has linked a diet too high in iron and cancer, suggesting that it may build up in the liver and become toxic. But on the other hand, having too little iron makes it difficult for the immune system to fight cancer, which could also increase the risk of getting the disease.
Overall, the researchers from the German Institute of Nutritional Sciences said: “The ideal iron intake must therefore be carefully balanced between iron deficiency and iron excess, as both can have potentially clinical consequences. crucial in the development of cancer.”
This brutal trend is sweeping the United States and has already cost the lives of some public figures.
The late Chadwick Boseman, star of the Marvel blockbuster Black Panther, was diagnosed with the illness in 2016, when he was just 39 years old.
He died after a four-year battle with the disease in August 2020, prompting countless fans to pay attention to the early crisis of colorectal cancer.
Increased attention to the disease has led to more research, like the new study presented by Rutgers doctors at the 2024 American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) Annual Scientific Meeting.
Using data from the CDC and the National Center for Health Statistics, researchers looked at data from 147,026 cancer deaths between 2000 and 2022.
They divided people into two groups: between 20 and 44 years old and between 45 and 54 years old.
They found that each year the number of people aged 20 to 44 dying from cancer increased by 0.93 percent.
Study author Yazan Abboud, chair of resident research at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, told Medscape that their findings: “prompt more efforts to educate people about the symptoms of colorectal cancer.” .
Chadwick Boseman kept his diagnosis largely private, meaning his death at just 43 came as a shock to his millions of fans. It has since become a symbol of the fight against colorectal cancer among young people.
Dr. David Johnson, chief of gastroenterology at the Eastern Virginia School of Medicine who was not involved in the research, told Medscape that many young patients are diagnosed after their disease has already taken over the body. .
The longer a cancer remains undetectable in the body, the longer it takes for it to grow and infiltrate large parts of the body.
The larger and more widespread a cancer is, the more difficult it is to treat.
Instead of waiting until it’s too late, there are signs young people can look out for, Dr. Johnson said, that might prompt them to get tested sooner. ‘In particular, overt bleeding and iron deficiency require targeted evaluation in these younger cohorts.’
Doctors know that often in the early stages of colorectal cancer, patients often develop anemia. The role that iron plays in cancer has therefore been studied for a long time.
Much of the research has focused on the damage that too much iron can do to your body. Studies from the American Association for Cancer Research show that a lifetime of excessive iron consumption can lead to an increased risk of lung and colorectal cancer.
Researchers suggest that tumor cells may use iron as fuel to grow and spread, drawing blood from healthy tissue. It can also accumulate in the liver and become toxic.
The data, which has not yet been published in a journal, shows that year-on-year the number of people aged 20 to 54 dying from cancer increased by 0.87 percent. This increase, they say, was most pronounced among people aged 20 to 45.
But some research also suggests that iron deficiency could also be a problem.
A 2021 study by researchers at the Institute of Nutritional Sciences in Germany found that iron deficiency was linked to a higher risk of developing and dying from colorectal cancer.
The researchers said: ‘Just as the effects of excess iron intake can potentially influence both the etiology and prognosis of CRC, so too can the physiological effects of iron deficiency.’
Similarly, a 2001 study by McGill University in Canada found that people with lung, prostate, and head and neck cancers were on average 65% more likely to die if they were anemic than if they were not.
Researchers suggest that when your body doesn’t have enough iron, it can’t produce white blood cells, which are the immune system’s first line of defense.
When cancer begins to grow, a healthy immune system can sometimes detect mutated cells and destroy them before they develop into tumors.
According to scientists, knocking out the immune system by not consuming enough iron could therefore make the body more vulnerable to cancer.
Researchers from the Institute of Nutritional Sciences said: “The role of iron deficiency has been largely overlooked and, based on the preclinical and clinical data reviewed, perhaps underestimated.
In the UK, around 45,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer each year, a general term for both colon and rectal cancer.
Only half of those diagnosed are expected to survive 10 years after learning they have the disease, with just under 17,000 Britons killed by cancer each year.
However, in both cases, the number of deaths is expected to increase by around 4,500 and 2,500 per year respectively by 2040, according to experts.
