Colon cancer cases 'may rise 50%'

The UK is heading for a 50% increase in the number of new colon cancer cases over the next 30 years, says an international team of scientists , reports BBC News.

The forecast, in the European Journal of Cancer, is for 35,000 new cases a year by 2040, compared with 23,000 now. Rising obesity is one reason – and if the UK reached US levels that could add another 2,000 to the total, they say.

The study used cancer data from seven countries to predict how cancer rates might change with an ageing population.

Each year there are 38,000 cases of bowel cancer, which can split into those in the colon and those lower down in the rectum. This latest study looked just at those in the colon itself.

Two of the biggest risk factors for colon cancer are physical inactivity and being overweight or obese.