Every month, about 260 new patients with colon cancer are discovered in Israel The Cancer Society emphasizes that tests for the early detection of colon cancer make it possible to prevent its development or to treat it at an early stage | The association urges women and men over the age of 50 to perform a simple, free examination at the health fund every year
On the occasion of International Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month in March, the Cancer Society presents new data and scientific research.
According to the estimate of the Cancer Society, in 2022 approximately 3,200 women and men in Israel will be diagnosed with colon cancer and approximately 1,300 Israelis will die from the disease.
According to the data of the Ministry of Health, about five years ago in 2018, 3,095 new cases of colon cancer were diagnosed in Israel and about 1,254 women and men died from the disease. About a decade ago, that is, in 2012, about 3,139 patients were diagnosed with colon cancer and about 1,355 Israelis died from the disease.
According to Ministry of Health data, as of 2020, colon and rectal tumors were about one-tenth of all tumors among Jewish men and Arab women, about 13% of all cancer cases among Arab men, and about 7% of all tumors among Jewish women. In 2020, colon cancer was also responsible for about 11% of all deaths. In 2020, about 10.6% of new cancer cases worldwide were colon cancer.
A new study that examined the outlook for future morbidity and mortality from colon cancer in the world, based on the Globocan data of the International Agency for Research on Cancer at the World Health Organization, determined that in 2020 there were over 1.9 million new cases of colon cancer and 930 thousand deaths of the disease, which are 10.7% and 9.7% of all cancer morbidity and mortality cases in that year.
Colon cancer was more common in men than in women, and 60.4% of the patients were aged 50-74. The researchers’ future estimate is that by the year 2040, 3.2 million new cases of colon cancer and 1.6 million deaths are expected. These data reflect a 63% increase in morbidity rates and 73.4% in mortality rates compared to 2020. The study was published in the journal Gut in the February 2023 edition.
Moshe Bar-Chaim, CEO of the Association to Fight Cancer, stated that: “Each month in Israel, about 260 new patients with colon cancer are discovered. We know that early diagnosis can significantly reduce the risk of developing colon cancer, so I call on the public, women and men over the age of 50, to go to the health insurance fund for a simple test for free. At the same time, at any age, if you notice symptoms in the digestive system that do not go away, it is important to seek medical attention.”