Leading doctors are calling for public awareness of the symptoms of anal cancer, as new data shows a significant increase in cases in women - especially those over the age of 65.
Warning signs include blood in the stool, pain, itching, small lumps around the anus, and persistent, uncontrollable diarrhea.
These problems can also be caused by more common conditions like hemorrhoids or anal fissures – but symptoms that are unusual or persist should always be checked by a medical professional, experts add.
The warning comes after researchers analyzed data from the US National Cancer Institute for the period 2017–2021 and discovered something surprising.
Overall, cases increased by three percent in women and 1.6 percent in men during the study period.
But white women over the age of 65 experienced the most dramatic growth, with an annual increase of four percent.
If these trends continue, scientists warn that cases of anal cancer in women over 65 could double in less than 17 years.
The findings challenge long-held assumptions about who is most at risk, say experts who follow the phenomenon.
Screening guidelines have traditionally focused on people with HIV, men who have sex with men, organ transplant recipients, and women with a history of vulvar cancer.
"The rate of increase in anal cancer is fastest in white and Hispanic women over the age of 65 - groups that were traditionally not considered high risk," said lead author Dr. Ashley Robinson, a second resident in internal medicine at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, GazetaExpress reports.
The human papillomavirus, known as HPV, causes 90 percent of anal cancer cases. In the UK, around 1,600 people are diagnosed each year.
Although still considered rare, it accounts for about one percent of all gastrointestinal cancers.
Although the reason for the increase in cases is not yet clear, experts suggest that it may be related to the fact that the HPV vaccine was not recommended for older women when they were young, even though it is now widely available and offered in schools.
In the United Kingdom, the HPV vaccine has been offered to all girls aged 12–13 since September 2008, while boys have been included in the program since September 2019.
The vaccine significantly reduces the chance of becoming infected with HPV, which is spread through skin-to-skin contact, usually during sexual intercourse.
The virus is usually harmless, but for reasons that are not fully understood it can cause cancers – including those of the anus, throat, penis, vagina and cervix.
“It is essential that we promote the HPV vaccine as a key tool for preventing anal cancer, while keeping healthcare professionals informed of evolving screening guidelines,” said Dr Robinson.
"These findings highlight specific patient groups who may benefit from targeted screening for anal HPV and anal cancer."
Currently, older women are not screened for anal cancer, and the study findings concluded that this could be beneficial.
It comes as the number of people under the age of 50 with bowel cancer in England is rising at one of the fastest rates in the world, a major study warns.
While cases of bowel cancer in young people – defined as those aged 25 to 49 – are rising globally, the rate of the disease in England is increasing by an average of 3.6 per cent each year – one of the fastest increases.
Experts believe that poor nutrition, excessive consumption of processed foods, obesity and lack of physical activity may be the factors responsible for this worrying trend.
The study found that rates of colon cancer in young people increased in 27 of the 50 countries studied over the decade to 2017.
Researchers from the American Cancer Society, who led the study, said the rise in cancers at a young age is no longer limited to wealthy Western countries, but is now a "global phenomenon". /Express newspaper/
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