Women who contract early-onset colorectal cancer are more likely to die from the cancer depending on where they live, according to a study published in Clinical and Translational Gastroenterology.
Researchers analyzed CDC data for 28,790 women from 1999 to 2016. The data was from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results program.
While early-stage diagnosis increased survival odds, physicians often arrived at the diagnosis too late because guidelines do not recommend individuals under 45 get a colonoscopy. About 1 in 16 counties in the U.S. was diagnosed as an early-onset CRC hot spot. Early-onset CRC was tied to a lack of physical activity or having a baby. About 25 percent of adults living in hot-spot counties didn't engage in physical activity during their leisure time, and 5 percent of women in hot spots had a live birth within the last year.
The study supports findings from a past study that revealed hot spots of early-onset CRC for both men and women. While that study found that 92 percent of early-onset hot spots were in the Southern U.S., this study found that women in the Midwest and Northeast U.S. were at risk.
Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanderbilt University Medical Center promoted the study Nov. 23.