Childhood toxin exposure ‘may be factor in bowel cancer rise in under-50s’

Health records show there has been a rise in bowel cancer rates in adults under 50 in at least 27 countries. Photograph: Drazen_/Getty Images

Childhood exposure to a toxin produced by bacteria in the bowel may be contributing to the rise of colorectal cancer in under-50s around the world, researchers say.

Countries, including some in Europe and Oceania, have witnessed an increase in young adults with bowel cancer in recent decades, with some of the steepest increases reported in England, New Zealand, Puerto Rico and Chile.