“Nutrition affects the colon, liver and pancreas”

Forlì, 19 April 2024 – Tumors are a pathology often associated with advanced age but doctors and scientific journals are increasingly reporting a increase in cases among young people.

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The story of the British princess Kate Middleton, just 42 years old, recently brought the problem back into the spotlight: after a mysterious surgical operation, the wife of the heir to the throne of England confessed to being fighting cancer (so far the royal family has not wanted to give further details ). Forlì, and Romagna in general, can count on a constant monitoring of the incidence of cancer cases: the IRST of Meldola deals with it. Dr. Fabio Falcini, director of the oncohematology department of the Romagna local health authority and of the Emilia-Romagna tumor registry, describes the scenario in the city.

Falcini, which types of cancer are on the increase among young people?

“Almost all over the world, albeit with large differences, the incidence of some neoplasms among people under 40 is increasing. The tumors involved are many and different but the heart of the problem is the increase in those that recognize the childhood and juvenile obesity as one of the primary causes. In particular, the colon, liver, pancreas, body of the uterus and ovary, kidney and thyroid are affected”.

What could be the causes?

“Lifestyles: the abuse of smoking and alcohol, an incorrect diet and little physical activity have an important impact on the onset of these pathologies. Even natural and artificial sun exposure, such as the use of tanning lamps, without protection and the lack of a snow control culture increase the risk.”

In Forlì, is the trend growing among young people?

“No, the province’s incidence values ​​do not show an increase. However, these should not be taken lightly.”

Why?

“There is a basic difficulty: it is very complex to carry out statistical studies in a small population cohort, such as that of a province like Forlì-Cesena. Especially with people in an age group that rarely gets sick.”

The only active screening for younger age groups is that of the cervix: the Pap test and HPV, performed in women starting from the age of 25 and 30 respectively. How is the administration going in Forlì?

“In Forlì this screening has always had good participation. The only setback we had with the arrival of the pandemic in 2020. Participation among women today is around 60%. In very young girls participation is lower because prevention is also done during gynecological check-ups in private practices”.

Could it be useful to bring forward the age of screening, uterus, colon rectum and breast, to prevent juvenile forms of cancer?

“The national indications for breast screening would include an invitation from the age of 50. The Emilia-Romagna region is already experimenting with inviting women from the age of 45. For now, the effectiveness is being studied. As regards the colon rectum, however, lowering the age would not have a significant impact: the prevalence of polyps is low in young people, unless there are familiar situations”.

What about other types of diagnoses?

“The same thing goes for the uterus: the onset of the tumor is caused by the presence of the HPV virus which almost always heals spontaneously. For other types of tumors, such as the pancreas or the ovary, we do not yet have diagnosis techniques early standardized treatments.

Which?

“A very serious issue is that we know relatively little about how tumors are treated in young adults, because therapies are studied on middle-aged people because they are the most numerous cases.”