It is the modern health crisis that is baffling doctors around the world: rising rates of bowel cancer in people under 50, many of whom are perfectly fit and healthy.
And according to the most recent international data, this surge is affecting Britain more dramatically than most other Western countries, including the United States.
Now, the question that the world’s leading experts are struggling to answer is: why?
While research has not yet identified specific smoking gun, groups of scientists have put forward a variety of different theories, some of which are especially compelling.
The latest proposal to attract experts’ attention was published earlier this week by researchers at the University of Miami.
In an article in the journal Cancer Prevention Research, scientists suggested that the increase in bowel cancers in young people, also called colon cancer, may be partly explained by the phenomenon of “accelerated aging” among the youngest.
“Accelerated aging” is a scientific concept that means that a person’s body is older than their chronological age or birthday number.
Scientists found that each year of accelerated aging correlated with a 16 percent increase in the risk of developing polyps, small growths that can lead to cancer.
At the same time, the team found that these growths occurred independently of other known risk factors for the disease, such as obesity and smoking history.
This aging is thought to be caused by a combination of lifestyle choices, such as diet and exercise level, as well as factors typically outside an individual’s control, such as environmental exposure to chemicals in food, clothes and air.
While it is a tantalizing potential link, the exact relationship between accelerated aging and bowel cancer is not yet fully understood.
This is also just a theory. Other studies have pointed to dietary exposure to seed oils, such as sunflower, canola, corn and grape seed, as the explanation for the 50 percent increase in young bowel cancers since the 1990s.
Bowel cancer can cause you to have blood in your stool, a change in bowel habit, or a lump inside the intestine that can cause blockages. Some people also experience weight loss as a result of these symptoms.
A recent American study, which analyzed the tumors of more than 80 bowel cancer patients, found that the growths contained high levels of bioactive lipids, microscopic fatty compounds that are produced when the body breaks down seed oils.
These lipids are believed to be dangerous in two ways. First, they promote inflammation, which helps cancers grow.
Secondly, they are said to prevent the body from using natural defense mechanisms to fight tumors.
The researchers behind the analysis urged people to switch from seed oils to oils with omega-3 fatty acids, such as olive and avocado oil.
Meanwhile, a growing number of studies have placed the blame on ultra-processed foods (UPF) and the growing consumption of them by the world’s population.
For example, a study from Singapore found that methylglyoxal, a compound released when the body breaks down sugary and fatty foods, interferes with a gene that helps fight tumors.
Another 2023 study in the journal Clinical Nutrition found a “significant and consistent association between UPF intake and the risk of overall cancer and several types of cancer,” including bowel cancer.
Other less explored theories involve microplastics (plastic particles that transfer to food from packaging materials) and additives in store-bought foods.
Scientists believe that both elements of modern life can end up in our intestines, where they trigger a cascade of damage.
They are thought to not only interfere with the intricate balance of healthy bacteria in the gut, which may boast cancer-fighting properties, but could also destroy the organ’s protective barrier.
A weakened barrier could increase the access of pathogenic bacteria and toxins to the inner layer of the intestine, causing tumor development.
Regardless of the cause of the increase, there is significant evidence that this is a global problem that continues to grow.
When Ellie Wilcock experienced sudden pain in her abdomen, she assumed a urinary tract infection (UTI) was to blame. After all, it was something the then 25-year-old had experienced before.
But the real cause was a cancer that kills almost 17,000 Britons every year. Ellie, now 27, from Peterborough, was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer, the most serious type of the disease.
A recent review of 50 countries found that cases in those under 50 were increasing in more than half of all countries surveyed.
England was also found to have one of the fastest increases globally, with the disease rate growing by an average of 3.6 per cent each year.
Behind the statistics lie heartbreaking stories of young people in the prime of their lives being diagnosed with bowel cancer.
Perhaps the most recognizable victim is Deborah James, known as the ‘gut babe’, who was diagnosed with the disease when she was just 35 years old and raised millions for charity in her final days in 2022.
Another example of a healthy, fit woman who was affected by the disease was Zu Rafalat, from Finsbury Park, London, who died in 2020 aged 39.
The super fit globetrotter He initially thought he had contracted a stomach virus in Central America, where he vacationed in December 2018.
It later turned out to be stage four bowel cancer that had spread to other organs.
Another young British woman affected by the disease in its prime was Ellie Wilcock, who after experiencing sudden pain in her abdomen, assumed a urinary tract infection was to blame.
Dame Deborah James, nicknamed ‘the gut babe’, raised more than £11.3 million for cancer research and is credited with raising awareness of the disease, which killed her in 2022, aged 40.
Ellie, now 27, from Peterborough, who enjoyed playing sports such as tennis and hiking before her diagnosis, was eventually diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer, the most serious type of the disease.
The trend is not limited to women. Actor Chadwick Boseman, famous for Black Panther, died of colon cancer at age 43.
Cancer Research UK, while acknowledging the increase, highlights that bowel cancers among young people remain statistically rare.
Every year there are around 2,600 new cases of bowel cancer in people aged 25 to 49 in the UK and around 44,100 new cases among all ages.
This figure is expected to rise to 47,700 cases per year by 2040, projections suggest.
Data shows that only one in 20 bowel cancers in the UK are diagnosed in people under 50.
Zu Rafalat, 38, from Finsbury Park, whose bloating left her looking “six months pregnant”, was horrified when she was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer. She appears in the vacation photo.
While the cause of the rise in bowel cancer among young people remains under investigation, experts estimate that more than half of the cases diagnosed in Britain each year are preventable due to known cancer risk factors.
A shocking one in four preventable cases is because Britons consume too little fiber (found in fruit, vegetables and whole grains), which is known to be a key factor in good digestive health.
About one in 10 cases is triggered by eating processed meat, and a similar number are due to people who are overweight or obese.
Studies have suggested that the risk of developing bowel cancer increases by 18 per cent when people consume more than 50 grams of processed meat (one sausage) per day.
One in 20 cases is due to alcohol consumption, smoking and lack of exercise.
Research suggests that drinking just half a liter of low-strength beer a day, about two units, could increase the risk of bowel cancer by 4 percent, and the risk increases with higher alcohol consumption.
About one in 50 cases of bowel cancer are thought to be caused by exposure to radiation, for example treatment with radiotherapy.
A fifth of bowel cancer cases are thought to have their origins in a genetic risk.
Symptoms of bowel cancer include changes in bowel movements, such as new, constant diarrhea or constipation, needing or feeling like having to have bowel movements more or less frequently, blood in the stool, stomach pain, a lump in the stomach, bloating, unexpected weight loss. and fatigue.
Anyone experiencing these symptoms should contact their GP for advice.