A recent study on colon cancer has identified four key symptoms that serve as warning signs for younger adults.
This study comes at a time when the incidence of colon cancer in middle-aged individuals has surged, with rates doubling among those under 55 since the 1990s, The Mirror reports.
The researchers involved in the landmark study analysed the medical records of 5,075 people who were diagnosed with early-onset colon cancer before turning 50, as part of an effort to track changes in the disease's prevalence.
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The study, which draws on data from the IBM MarketScan Commercial Database, encompassing more than 113 million Americans, was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Researchers compared the symptoms of patients with early-onset colon cancer to those of individuals without the disease, reviewing medical reports to identify 17 common colon cancer symptoms.
Of these, four were found to be particularly indicative of colon cancer, including ongoing iron deficiency anaemia, a pale colouring beneath the lower eyelids, and unusually pale or yellow skin.
Dr Yin Cao, a surgeon at Washington University, explained to The Mirror that when thinking of colon cancer it is important not to think of it as "simply a disease affecting older people".
She said: "We want younger adults to be aware of and act on these potentially very telling signs and symptoms.
"[This is] particularly because people under 50 are considered to be at low risk and they don't receive routine colorectal cancer screening."
Dr Cao added: "Since the majority of early-onset colon cancer cases have been and will continue to be diagnosed after symptom presentation, it is crucial to recognise these red-flag signs and symptoms promptly and conduct diagnostic work-up as soon as possible.
"By doing so, we can diagnose the disease earlier, which in turn can reduce the need for more aggressive treatment and improve patients' quality of life and survival rates."
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