Bowel Cancer Awareness

Recap On The Risk Factors and Symptoms Of Colorectal Cancer (large bowel)

Risk factors of Small Bowel Cancer

Poor diet

A diet rich in red meat or smoked foods, or a high fat diet.

However, fruit, vegetables, coffee, fish and dietary fibre protect against small bowel cancer (Cancer Research UK, 2022; Pedersen, Raghav and Overman, 2019).

Genetic conditions

Most cases of small bowel cancer are sporadic.

Genetic mutations can increase risk not only to small bowel cancer and colorectal cancer but also endometrial (womb lining), ovaries, gastric (stomach), bile duct (biliary), urinary tract, and skin cancers (Pederson, Raghav and Overman, 2019)

Familial adenomatous polyposis – a rare autosomal dominant condition where an inherited faulty APC gene on chromosome 5 makes many polyps develop on the bowel lining.

Hereditary non polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) or Lynch syndrome: autosomal dominant mutation of DNA mismatch repair genes. It increases the risk of several different types of cancer at a younger age.

Peutz Jeghers syndrome – an inherited condition where benign (non cancerous) polyps form in the bowel (Cancer Research UK, 2022)

Gastrointestinal disorders

Crohn’s disease – cancers related to Crohn’s disease are usually adenocarcinomas of the ileum. Only 2 out of 100 people with Crohn’s disease (2%) will develop cancer in the small bowel.

Coeliac disease – It may slightly increase your risk of developing lymphoma or adenocarcinoma of the small bowel. Adhering to a gluten free diet reduces the risk (Cancer Research UK, 2022).

Symptoms Of Small Bowel Cancer

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New Risk Factors Of Bowel Cancer

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It is well-established that the risk factors for bowel cancer are augmented with lifestyle factors and sedentary behaviour linked to obesity, a high-fat diet, alcohol, tobacco, and poor exercise levels. The aim of this article is to divert your attention to new risks of bowel cancer recently discovered: pathogenic bacteria, overuse of antibiotics and cystic fibrosis…

References

Azzopardi, M. (2013) Digestion. Available at: https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/digestion-29026783/29026783 (Accessed: 17^th June 2025)

Cancer Research UK (2022) What is small bowel cancer? https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/small-bowel-cancer/about (Accessed: 8^th April 2025)

Chang, S.Y., Song, J.H., Guleng, B., Cotoner, C.A., Arihiro, S., Zhao, Y., Chiang, H.S., O’Keeffe, M., Liao, G., Karp, C.L., Kweon, M.N., Sharpe, A.H., Bhan, A., Terhorst, C. and Reinecker, H.C (2013). Circulatory Antigen Processing by Mucosal Dendritic Cells Controls CD8+ T Cell Activation. Immunity, 38(1), pp.153–165. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2012.09.018.

Khosla, D., Dey, T., Madan, R., Gupta, R., Goyal, S., Kumar, N. and Kapoor, R. (2022). Small bowel adenocarcinoma: An overview. World Journal of Gastrointestinal Oncology, [online] 14(2), pp.413–422. doi:https://doi.org/10.4251/wjgo.v14.i2.413. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8918997/

‌Pedersen, K.S., Raghav, K. and Overman, M.J. (2019). Small Bowel Adenocarcinoma: Etiology, Presentation, and Molecular Alterations. Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, 17(9), pp.1135–1141. doi:https://doi.org/10.6004/jnccn.2019.7344.

Sanders, L.M., Henderson, C.E., Hong, M.Y., Rola Barhoumi, Burghardt, R.C., Carroll, R.J., Turner, N.D., Chapkin, R.S. and Lupton, J.R. (2004). Pro-oxidant environment of the colon compared to the small intestine may contribute to greater cancer susceptibility. Cancer Letters, 208(2), pp.155–161. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.canlet.2003.12.007.

Useful resources and further reading

Cancer Research UK (2022) Small Bowel Cancer Available at: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/small-bowel-cancer (Accessed: 17^th June 2025)

Cancer Research UK (2024) Grades and types of bowel cancer Available at: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/bowel-cancer/stages-types-and-grades/grades-and-types (Accessed: 17^th June 2025)

Updated June 2025 Next Review June 2027