This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Age and lower gastrointestinal cancer

Authoring team

In 2000, with respect to the UK, it was stated (1):

  • 99% of lower gastrointestinal cancer occurs in patients over 40 years old

  • 85% of lower gastrointestinal cancer occurs in patients over 60 years old

UK statistics from CRUK state (2):

  • bowel cancer incidence is strongly related to age, with the highest incidence rates being in older people
  • in the UK in 2016-2018, on average each year more than 4 in 10 new cases (43%) were in people aged 75 and over
  • age-specific incidence rates rise steeply from around age 50-54
  • highest rates are in in the 85 to 89 age group for females and males
  • incidence rates are significantly lower in females than males in a number of (mainly older) age groups
    • gap is widest at age 65 to 69, when the age-specific incidence rate is 1.7 times lower in females than males

However a New England Journal of Medicine review notes (3):

  • early-onset disease (at <50 years of age) accounts for 10% of colorectal cancer cases, and the incidence is increasing, particularly in high-income countries
    • patients often present with advanced disease in the left colon
    • one in six patients has deficient DNA mismatch repair
    • screening is now recommended to begin at 45 years of age

Reference:


Create an account to add page annotations

Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.