Colon polyps are uncommon in people in their 20s, according to the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE), but more than 40% of people in their 50s have precancerous colon polyps. In fact, the ASGE says that being over the age of 50 is the biggest risk factor for developing colon polyps.
Polyp growths are actually fairly common among adults, with a 25% chance of having a polyp at the age of 60. On the opposite end, it's very rare for adults in their 20s to develop a polyp. In fact, the biggest risk factor for having a polyp is simply being over the age of 50.
However, it's not totally uncommon to find significant-sized polyps in younger people in their 30s or 40s (and even in their 20s!) From the time a polyp starts growing, it is thought to take more than 10 years for the polyp to grow into cancer…and not all adenomatous polyps grow larger or turn into cancer at all.
Anyone can develop colon and rectal polyps, but people with the following risk factors are more likely to do so: Age 45 years and older. A family history of polyps or colon cancer. A rare inherited gene that makes people more likely to develop polyps.
Yale Medicine doctors warn that people as young as age 20 need to be aware of the warning signs. Nobody in their 20s, 30s or 40s gets colorectal cancer, right? Wrong. The truth is that colorectal cancer is on the rise in young adults and has been for years.
"For a young adult, a colonoscopy isn't recommended unless other workups or tests indicate that there's good reason for a more thorough check of your colon." Typically, screening colonoscopies begin at age 45 and are done every 10 years.
It takes approximately 10 years for a small polyp to develop into cancer.
Although most polyps are benign, they can become cancerous if left untreated. Therefore, it's important to remove these polyps before they become cancerous. A colonoscopy is one of the best ways to detect and remove polyps. It also allows doctors to check for signs of colorectal cancer and remove any abnormal tissue.
Most polyps grow slowly and take from between 10 and 15 years to become cancerous. Due to this general time frame, most screenings are scheduled every 10 years which gives Colorectal Surgical Associates time to remove any polyps before they become cancerous.
Colon polyp development involves genetic and epigenetic changes and environmental effectors such as stress in this process can drive the normal colonic epithelial cells to hyperplastic and adenomas [25-27].
Don't worry. Most polyps aren't cancer. But some types of colon polyps do increase your risk of developing colonrectal cancer. So, it's important to be informed.
As often as 40% of the time, a precancerous polyp — frequently a type called an adenoma — is found during a screening colonoscopy. Colon cancer is found during only in about 40 out of 10,000 screening colonoscopies, Dr. Sand said.
Polyp Growth Rates
Cancerous polyps tend to grow slowly. It is estimated that the polyp dwell time, the time needed for a small adenoma to transform into a cancer, may be on average 10 years (17).
It can be a flat bump (sessile). Or it can be shaped like a mushroom, with a bulbous head projecting from a stalk (pedunculated). Polyps range in size, from about 5 millimeters (the size of a match head) to 3 centimeters (similar to the top of your thumb) or larger.
While the majority of colon cancers start as polyps, only 5-10% of all polyps will become cancerous.
Colorectal cancer can occur without polyps, but it is thought to be an uncommon event. Individuals with long-standing inflammatory bowel diseases, such as chronic ulcerative colitis and Crohn's colitis, are at increased risk for developing colorectal cancer that occurs in the absence of obvious polyps.
"Sometimes they just go away on their own, but removing polyps is thought to be one of the mechanisms by which we can prevent the formation of cancer in the first place." That's why regular screening is so important. The downside is that if a polyp is found in your colon, you may have to get screened more frequently.
Regular screening, beginning at age 45, is the key to preventing colorectal cancer and finding it early.
In multivariable analysis, the presence of 5 or more polyps at index colonoscopy was found to be associated with the risk of metachronous HR-CRN (OR, 2.575, p = 0.049) after adjusting for risk factors, such as obesity, diabetes, and smoking.
If a young adult experiences symptoms of colorectal cancer, they should talk to their doctor, and if no clear cause of the symptoms is found, a diagnostic colonoscopy may be in order. This procedure will identify the cause of symptoms so that if cancer is present, it can be treated as early as possible.
So, the more polyps you have, the higher your cancer risk. Someone with just one or two small polyps is generally at lower risk of having or developing colon cancer than someone with three to nine, or more.