Are you at higher-than-average risk for developing colon or rectal cancer? A risk factor is something that increases the likelihood you will develop a health problem. Risk factors can be outside your control, such as age or genetics, or things that you do (or don’t do) that raise your risk. Smoking is a good example of a controllable risk factor.
Knowing your risk factors for CRC is important. You can take steps to lower your risks where possible, and it helps you and your doctor decide when you should begin CRC screening and which screening test is right for you.
[See: 8 Questions to Ask Your Doctor About Colon Cancer.]
Personal Risk Factors
Age. Cancer is primarily a disease of aging. The older you are, the more likely you will develop cancer. The median age for a colon cancer diagnosis is about 68. You can’t stop aging, of course, but you can eat a healthy diet, exercise, not smoke and drink alcohol in moderation, all good moves for warding off cancer and other serious illnesses.
A personal history of polyps. Polyps are growths on the wall of the colon. They begin as normal cells but may become cancerous. During a colonoscopy, one type of colon cancer screening test, your doctor can remove polyps and have a lab determine if they are cancerous, precancerous or benign (harmless). If your doctor finds polyps during a colonoscopy, he or she may recommend you undergo more frequent screening.
A personal history of cancer or digestive diseases. If you’ve had cancer in the past — especially CRC or cancers of the ovary, endometrium and breast — you are at greater risk for developing cancer again. Certain diseases, such as ulcerative colitis (ulcers in the lining of the large intestine) or Crohn’s disease (an inflammatory bowel disease), put you at higher risk for CRC.
“If more than one-third of your colon is involved in ulcerative colitis, it can put you at increased risk [for CRC], and you should get screened more frequently,” says Dr. Matilda Hagan, an inflammatory bowel disease specialist at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore. If you have symptoms of ulcerative colitis, or a doctor diagnosed you more than eight years ago, Hagan says you should have a routine screening colonoscopy every one to three years. If you’ve had colitis for more than 20 years, you may need to undergo screening every year.
Family history. Most people who develop colon cancer do not have a family history. However, if a member of your family had either colon cancer or polyps, it does increase your risk. The risk is higher if it’s a first-degree relative (parent or sibling) or if the relative developed colon cancer before age 60. “Make sure you know your family history,” Hagan says. Individuals who have a family history of CRC should talk to their doctor about when to begin screening.
[See: 10 Seemingly Innocent Symptoms You Shouldn’t Ignore.]
Polyp Conditions
About 5 to 10 percent of CRC patients have important genetic mutations associated with colon cancer.
Familial adenomatous polyps. FAP is a condition in which you have a large number of polyps. The polyps can occur as early as your 20s. “There are hundreds of polyps in the colon,” Hagan says, “not just one or two.”
FAP puts individuals at significantly higher risk of developing CRC. In fact, without intervention, as many as 90 percent of affected individuals will develop cancer by the time they’re in their 40s. Most people with FAP have their colon removed as a preventive measure. “It gets too complicated to screen and remove cancers,” Hagan says. Fortunately, only about 1 percent of CRC cases are due to FAP.
Lynch syndrome. Lynch Syndrome is the most common form of inherited CRC, accounting for about 2 to 5 percent of CRCs, or 7,500 new cases annually. More than 90 percent of CRC cancers in people who have Lynch Syndrome demonstrate a tumor feature called microsatellite instability.
“Patients with Lynch syndrome (and therefore usually microsatellite instability) have mutations in mismatch repair genes,” explains Dr. Kristen Ciombor, medical oncologist at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center — Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute. These patients are more likely to develop many types of cancers, including colorectal and endometrial, and often these cancers have microsatellite instability. “Patients with Lynch syndrome develop polyps at a greater frequency than the general population, and they have a much higher incidence of developing cancer.”
[See: 6 Options for People Who Don’t Want a Colonoscopy.]
According to Ciombor, it’s important to test for MI in CRC patients. It’s a prognostic tool and can help screen for Lynch syndrome, even though patients can have microsatellite instability without also having Lynch syndrome. Knowing you have microsatellite instability CRC may lead to additional treatments in the future for some patients. Furthermore, it’s possible your blood relatives also carry this genetic mutation, and they may want to undergo genetic counseling.
More from U.S. News
8 Questions to Ask Your Doctor About Colon Cancer
6 Options for People Who Don’t Want a Colonoscopy
16 Health Screenings All Women Need
What Are the Risk Factors for Colon Cancer? originally appeared on usnews.com
