The Rise of Colorectal Cancer in Younger People and Updated Screening Guidelines

Colorectal cancer, also called colon cancer or rectal cancer, is one of the most treatable cancers when found early. However, it is also the most common type of gastrointestinal cancer and is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. For decades, colorectal cancer was most often diagnosed in people aged 50 and over. More recently, the incidence of colorectal cancer has declined in people 50 and over, while dramatically increasing in younger people. Because of this shift, the American Cancer Society recently revised its colorectal cancer screening guidelines for people at average risk. According to the updated guidelines, individuals at average risk of colorectal cancer should have regular screening for colon cancer beginning at age 45. On this episode of the Bench to Bedside podcast, Dr. Roy Jensen, vice chancellor and director of The University of Kansas Cancer Center, discusses this topic with Dr. John Ashcraft, Associate Professor of Surgery and Division Chief of the Colorectal & Oncologic Surgery Division at the University of Kansas Medical Center, and Dr. Raed Al-Rajabi, Associate Professor of medicine in the division of medical oncology and leader of the gastrointestinal medical oncology group at the University of Kansas Medical Center.

Links from this Episode: 

• Read the new American Cancer Society guidelines for colon cancer screening

• Learn more about colon cancer screening and treatment at KU Cancer Center

• Read about Dr. Ajay Bansal’s Lynch Syndrome research and clinic

• Learn more about Dr. John Ashcraft and Dr. Raed Al-Rajabi

After listening to this episode, we invite YOU to be a part of the podcast! We want to hear your thoughts on the conversations we have here, topics you’d like to learn more about and any questions you may have for our guests. Call our Bench to Bedside hotline at 913-588-3880 and leave us a voicemail, or you can email your comments and questions to benchtobedside@kumc.edu. Your comments may be shared on a future episode!