Dr Kimmie Ng, an oncologist at the premier Dana-Farber Cancer Center has dedicated her life to the study of GI cancers and is particularly concerned about the rise in such cancers in people under 50

Dr Kimmie Ng has become a frontline witness to one of the greatest medical mysteries of her generation.

The Boston oncologist has launched one of the the world’s first center dedicated to studying an explosion of cancers in young people.

In the 1990s, doctors began seeing a rise in the number of otherwise healthy people under 50 being stricken with cancer, especially colorectal cancer.

Three decades later, scientists expect the number of early-onset colon cancer sufferers will double by 2030 in what some have labeled an ‘epidemic’.

Dr Ng, who specializes in gastrointestinal cancers, which also include cancers of the stomach and pancreas, said the days of cancer being a disease of the elderly was over.

‘That is not what we’re seeing in our clinics. Actually, these very, very young people are often very healthy,’ she said. Continue reading →

New research points to bacteria in the gut linked to processed food and not eating enough fiber

The above graphic shows the seven factors scientists say raise the risk of colon cancer in younger men

Scientists say they may be one step closer to understanding what’s driving a mystery rise in colon cancer in young people.

Researchers have discovered that patients with an aggressive form of the disease have unusually high levels of three bacteria in their guts.

Levels of fusobacterium, clostridium and shewanella have all been linked to diets high in processed foods and sugar, and low in fiber, fruit and veg. Continue reading →

Illustration of a cancer cell. (Science Photo Library/Canva Pro)

A tidal wave of cancer cases is expected to sweep the globe by 2050, jumping 77 percent between now and then, a new study says.

About 20 million cases of cancer were diagnosed in 2022, but that number is projected to balloon to more than 35 million cases by 2050, thanks in part to rising obesity rates and junk food diets. Continue reading →

* Cases of colon cancer are rising in younger people.

* Certain lifestyle factors can help reduce the risk of developing the disease.

* Dr. Michael Shusterman, a gastrointestinal oncologist, does these three easy things to help lower his risk.

Colon cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death in US men under 50 and the second deadliest cancer for women of the same age.

Rates of the disease have been rising in younger people since the ’90s, according to the American Cancer Society, and the total medical cost of colorectal-cancer care in the US was $24.3 billion in 2020, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

While experts still don’t know exactly what’s behind the uptick in cases, and certain factors such as genetics are out of our control, there are some lifestyle choices that could lower the risk of developing colon cancer, Dr. Michael Shusterman, ​a gastrointestinal medical oncologist at NYU Langone’s Perlmutter Cancer Center on Long Island, told Business Insider. Continue reading →

The particular type of thyroid tumour has been downgraded from cancer to stop unnecessary treatment for patients

Thyroid cancer can become metastatic when cancer cells originating in the thyroid gland spread to other parts of the body through the bloodstream or lymphatic system (tissue, vessels, and organs carrying white blood cells back to the bloodstream). Only 3% of cases are metastatic at the time of diagnosis.

Once thyroid cancer metastasizes, it can affect various organs and tissues. Early detection of thyroid cancer is important to start treatment and improve outcomes. Thyroidectomy(removal of the thyroid gland) and other treatments may be performed to prevent metastasis and potentially cure thyroid cancer.

Most thyroid cancer cases (64%) are diagnosed while the cancer is localized in the thyroid, and 30% when it has spread only to regional lymph nodes but not to distant sites.

This article will review the most common sites of metastasis, the symptoms associated with metastatic disease, the types of thyroid cancer, and their progression. Continue reading →

Use for one year and three years was associated with a 1.5- and 2.4-fold increase in the risk of stomach cancer, respectively.

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), a popular class of heartburn drugs, are linked to stomach cancer, a recent review found.

The review indicates that prolonged use of PPIs – exceeding three months – “is significantly associated with an elevated risk of cancer,” while shorter-term usage “appears to pose a comparatively lower risk,” the authors wrote.

PPIs are potent drugs that lower stomach acidity. They work by binding irreversibly to proton pumps – proteins in the stomach that release protons, a component of stomach acid. This action prevents the secretion of protons. Continue reading →

Discoveries involving microbes in colon cancer could eventually drive screening methods and lead to microbial-based therapies targeting tumors.

A new study shows that a common oral bacterium linked to a virulent form of colorectal cancer could be driving tumor growth.

The discovery was made in a study published March 20 in Nature. Researchers from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center performed a variety of tests on human stool samples and mice to document the transfer of this bacterium, Fusobacterium nucleatum, which occurred in about half of the colorectal cancers in tumors removed from 200 patients.

Colorectal cancer causes the second-highest number of cancer deaths in U.S. adults, according to the American Cancer Society. In 2024, it’s expected to take the lives of more than 53,000 people. Continue reading →