A nutrient deficiency that affects millions of people can increase the risk of colon cancer in young people

Doctors are urged to be alert to iron deficiency as an early warning sign of colon cancer in young people.

A new analysis of CDC data has shown that deaths from the disease have increased by just under 1 percent since 2005 among Americans ages 20 to 54.

It found that mortality was highest in younger people whose tumors are often diagnosed at a later stage, perhaps because doctors are less likely to suspect cancer.

The researchers behind the report are now urging doctors to maintain a ‘low clinical suspicion’ in younger patients who experience a change in bowel habits, bleeding or an iron deficiency.

Iron deficiency can cause anemia, a condition in which the body does not have enough healthy blood cells to circulate oxygen.

According to a 2024 study in the Journal of American Medical Association, about three in 10 adults may have some form of iron deficiency. British data shows that 3 percent of men and 8 percent of women also have an iron deficiency.

Some symptoms of iron deficiency include fatigue, weakness, pale skin, cold hands, cold feet, headache and dizziness.

Iron is found in large amounts in red meat. Still, many doctors recommend people reduce intake of this food group to reduce the risk of colorectal cancer. It is also found in foods such as spinach, beans and seafood.

The above graph shows the increase in colorectal cancer in Americans under the age of 50 over the past twenty years

Research has linked a diet with too much iron to cancer, suggesting it can build up in the liver and become toxic. But on the other hand, having too little iron makes it difficult for your body’s immune system to fight cancer, which could also increase your risk for the disease.

Taken together, researchers from the German Institute of Nutritional Sciences said: ‘Ideal iron intake should therefore be carefully balanced between iron deficiency and iron excess, as both could have potentially crucial clinical consequences with regard to the development of cancer.’

This brutal trend is sweeping the United States and has already claimed the lives of several public figures.

The late Chadwick Boseman, star of Marvel blockbuster Black Panther, was diagnosed with the disease in 2016, when he was just 39 years old.

He died after a four-year battle with the disease in August 2020, inspiring countless fans to raise awareness about the early-onset colorectal cancer crisis.

The increased attention to the disease has led to more research, such as the new study, which was presented by doctors at Rutgers American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) 2024 Annual Scientific Meeting.

Using data from the CDC and the National Center of Health Statistics, researchers examined data from 147,026 cancer deaths between 2000 and 2022.

They divided people into two groups: between 20-44 and between 45-54.

They found that the number of people aged 20 to 44 dying from cancer increases by 0.93 percent every year.

Study author Yazan Abboud, chair of research at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, told Medscape that their findings: “spur further efforts to increase awareness of the symptoms of colorectal cancer.”

Chadwick Boseman kept his diagnosis largely private, meaning his death at the age of 43 came as a shock to his millions of fans. Since then, he has become a symbol of the fight against young colorectal cancer

Dr. David Johnson, chief of gastroenterology at Eastern Virginia School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study, told Medscape that many young patients are diagnosed when their disease has already taken over the body.

The longer a cancer goes undetected in the body, the more time it has to grow and infiltrate far-reaching parts of the body.

The larger and more widespread a cancer is, the harder it is to treat.

Instead of waiting until it’s too late, there are signs young people can look out for, Dr. Johnson says, that might make them want to get screened sooner. ‘Overt bleeding and iron deficiency in particular need targeted evaluation in these younger cohorts. .’

Doctors know that patients will often develop anemia in the early stages of colorectal cancer. The role that iron plays in cancer has been studied for a long time.

Much of the research has focused on the damage too much iron can do to your body. With investigations of the American Association for Cancer Research showing that lifelong overconsumption of iron 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 tissues. It can also build up in the liver and become toxic.

The data, yet to be published in a journal, shows that the number of people aged 20 to 54 dying from cancer has increased by 0.87 percent year on year. According to them, this increase was most pronounced among people between the ages of 20 and 45

But some research also suggests that too little iron can also be a problem.

A review from 2021 of researchers at the Institute of Nutritional Science in Germany found that iron deficiency was linked to a greater risk of developing and dying from colorectal cancer.

The researchers said: ‘Just as the effects of excessive iron intake can potentially influence both the etiology and prognosis of CRC, so too can the physiological effects of iron deficiency.’

In the same way, a 2001 study from McGill University in Canada found that people with lung, prostate, head and neck cancer were, on average, 65 percent 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 frontline defense.

When cancer begins to develop, a healthy immune system can sometimes detect and destroy the mutated cells before they turn into tumors.

Turning off the immune system by not getting enough iron could therefore make the body more susceptible to cancer, scientists suggest.

The researchers from the Institute of Nutritional Science said: ‘the role of iron deficiency has been largely neglected and – based on the preclinical and clinical data reviewed – possibly underestimated.

Every year, around 45,000 people in Britain are diagnosed with bowel cancer, the general term for both colon and rectal cancer.

Only half of people diagnosed are expected to survive for another ten years after learning they have the disease, while just under 17,000 Britons die from the cancer every year.

In both cases, however, deaths are predicted to rise by about 4,500 and 2,500 annually respectively between now and 2040, experts said.