Colon cancer rates rising in people under 50

Colon cancer rates are rising among men and women under 50, the age at which guidelines recommend screenings start, a new analysis shows. One in seven colon cancer patients is under 50. Younger patients are more likely to have advanced stage cancer, but they live slightly longer without a cancer recurrence because they are treated aggressively, the researchers reported. "Colon cancer has traditionally been thought of as a disease of the elderly," said study lead author Dr. Samantha Hendren, an associate professor of surgery at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.