New Delhi: Patients as young as 15 are being seen at a Delhi hospital with gastrointestinal (GI) cancer, prompting experts to call for closer investigation into environmental exposures, including air pollution, alongside established risk factors such as diet, lifestyle and genetic susceptibility.
Dr Saumitra Rawat, chairperson of surgical gastroenterology and GI and HPB onco-surgery at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, said younger GI cancer patients should be assessed for multiple possible contributors, including family history, genetic susceptibility, diet, lifestyle, infections and environmental exposures.
An analysis of trends in England and India cited an early-onset colorectal cancer rate of 8.4 per 1 lakh among people under 50 in England in 2023, compared with 3.5 per 1 lakh among Indians aged 25-49. Indian urban cancer registries have shown a steady increase in colorectal cancer, while hospital studies have reported younger patients being diagnosed at advanced stages. The Indian picture also calls for closer investigation.