- The average age for people to be diagnosed with colorectal cancer is 66 years; however, recent research shows a marked increase in young adults.
- Colorectal cancer can increase a person’s risk for heart disease.
- A new study found people diagnosed with colorectal cancer have a higher probability of dying from cardiovascular issues.
- This increase in risk was especially apparent within the first two years after diagnosis and in people under the age of 50.
More than
While the average age for colorectal cancer diagnosis is about 66 years old, recent studies show there is a marked increase in the amount of younger adults being diagnosed.
Research presented in May 2024 reported that colon cancer rates increased by 71% in adults ages 30 to 34 and 58% in adults ages 35 to 39 between 1999 and 2020.
Having colorectal cancer may increase a person’s risk for several diseases, including other cancers such as pancreatic and prostate cancers, as well as heart disease.
Now, a new study has found that people diagnosed with colorectal cancer have a higher probability of dying from cardiovascular issues than the general population. This increase is especially seen in the first two years after their diagnosis and in people under the age of 50.
The study was recently presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session (ACC.25) but the results have yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal.
For this study, researchers analyzed medical data of more than 630,000 U.S. adults diagnosed with colorectal cancer between 2000 to 2021 from the
This data also included cardiovascular health information, including mortality from heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure,
“It’s important for researchers to continue studying how colorectal cancer impacts other areas of a person’s health because cancer is not just a localized disease — it can have widespread effects on the body including, but not limited to, systemic effects of cancer, metastasis and secondary conditions, treatment side effects, psychological and emotional health, and co-existing conditions,” Ahsan Ayaz, MD, an internal medicine resident at Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital in New York, and a member of the research team told Medical News Today.
“Colorectal cancer and cardiovascular disease share common risk factors, such as obesity, smoking, poor diet, physical inactivity, and chronic inflammation. Studying this link helps determine whether these factors contribute to increased mortality in colorectal cancer patients.”
— Ahsan Ayaz, MD
“Additionally, data from various studies have demonstrated association of cardiovascular toxicity with cancer treatments,” he added. “Some colorectal cancer treatments, like chemotherapy and radiation, can negatively impact the heart and blood vessels, increasing the risk of heart disease, hypertension, or blood clots.”
At the study’s conclusion, Ayaz and his team found that people with colorectal cancer were 16% more likely to die of heart disease-related causes than people without this type of cancer.
They found that people with colorectal cancer had a 45% increased risk of dying from heart disease within the first two years of their diagnosis.
“(These findings signify) that (the) first two years is a crucial time period where the risk of cardiovascular mortality can be modified by devising certain strategies to address the modifiable cardiovascular risk factors to improve survival in cancer patients,” Ayaz said.
The heart disease-related mortality risk was especially seen in people under the age of 50, who were 2.4 times more likely to die from cardiovascular causes than those in the same age group without colon cancer.
“This is the most important finding of our study,” Ayaz said. “Data have shown that incidence of colorectal cancer has been increasing in (the) younger population. There could be an association with certain genetic markers, but data are lacking about this and needs to be further explored in future studies. This patient population probably needs aggressive cardiovascular care after receiving a diagnosis of colorectal cancer with (a) multidisciplinary approach.”
“Patients with colorectal cancer, particularly those among high-risk subgroups, should receive specialized cardio-oncological care particularly within two years of initial diagnosis,” Ayaz added. “We plan to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of published colorectal cancer clinical trials to assess the risk factors associated with increased risk of cardiovascular mortality.”
MNT had the opportunity to speak with Cheng-Han Chen, MD, a board certified interventional cardiologist and medical director of the Structural Heart Program at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center in Laguna Hills, CA, about this study.
“This study found an association between colorectal cancer and an increased risk of mortality from cardiovascular disease,” Chen commented. “The reasons for such an association are not well understood but will be important to understand in order to help improve health outcomes for these patients.”
“While cancer itself can be deadly, it can frequently influence a person’s health by increasing their risk of other comorbid conditions. By better understanding the relationship between cancer and heart disease, it may potentially even be possible to improve cancer survival rates by better managing patients’ cardiovascular risk factors.”
— Cheng-Han Chen, MD
“There needs to be much more research on the potential mechanisms that could explain how cancer would influence cardiovascular mortality,” Chen added.
MNT also spoke with Anton Bilchik, MD, PhD, surgical oncologist, chief of medicine, and director of the Gastrointestinal and Hepatobiliary Program at Providence Saint John’s Cancer Institute in Santa Monica, CA, about this research.
Bilchik commented that this study demonstrates that young patients who develop colon cancer are at higher risk for cardiovascular disease.
“The importance of this is that these patients once diagnosed with colorectal cancer should be worked up for cardiovascular disease and treated appropriately. Furthermore, it provides further evidence that there may be similar causes for both cardiovascular disease and colorectal cancer, such as inflammation, diet, and obesity.”
— Anton Bilchik, MD, PhD
“These findings are extremely important because of the large increase in young patients being diagnosed with colorectal cancer and provides some insight into causation which can lead to more effective preventive options,” Bilchik added. “This is a large retrospective population-based study. Prospective trials are needed particularly in higher risk individuals to validate these findings.”
