This is the ‘Strongest Predictor of Colorectal Cancer’ under 50 — it Increases your Odds by 850%

. . .A new study has identified the “strongest predictor of colorectal cancer” in adults under 50 — increasing the odds of a diagnosis by a staggering 850%.

“This research lends support to the question of who does or doesn’t warrant a colonoscopy,” Dr. Sandra Kavalukas, a colorectal surgeon at the University of Louisville School of Medicine and lead author of the study, said in a statement.

Generally, Americans without a family history of the disease are advised to start getting screened at age 45. But experts warn that this guidance leaves many younger adults — who are experiencing the fastest rise in colorectal cancer rates — dangerously exposed.

“Many of the early-onset colorectal cancers that I see have no family history,” said Kavalukas, who hopes this research will help doctors identify which young symptomatic patients could benefit from earlier colonoscopies.

In the study, researchers combed through the records of 443 patients under 50 who got colonoscopies between 2021 and 2023 at University of Louisville Health.

Nearly half of them were diagnosed with early-onset colorectal cancer, with rectal bleeding standing out as the biggest warning sign. (Read more from “This is the ‘Strongest Predictor of Colorectal Cancer’ under 50 — it Increases your Odds by 850%” HERE)