Abstract
Background and aims
Colon cancer is thought to be more closely associated with environmental factors than rectal cancer, but evidence is currently insufficient. We examined whether there are differences in the degree of environmental effect on colon cancer and rectal cancer in Japan.
Methods
We performed a birth cohort analysis for colon and rectal cancers using Japanese vital statistics from 1950 to 1998 and analyzed time trends by cancer site and gender.
Results
The mean annual increase in age-adjusted mortality rate from colon cancer was greater than that from rectal cancer and was greater in men than in women. In men left colon cancer showed the greatest rate of increase whereas cancer of the right colon showed only a slight change. Although left colon cancer rapidly increased until the middle 1980s and thereafter showed no change, right colon cancer showed no change until the middle 1980s and thereafter rapidly increased in men. However, the rates of increase in left colon cancer were greater than those in right colon cancer until the middle 1980s, after which a reversal in trend was seen in women. Birth cohort analysis indicates that for all cohorts the mortality rates at the same age were higher in the recent cohorts than in the previous ones. This trend was more marked for colon cancer than for rectal cancer and was stronger among men than among women.
Conclusion
Colon cancer is more closely associated than rectal cancer with environmental factors, and this association is more pronounced in men than in women. Consequently cancers at these two sites should not be combined in studies of the role of lifestyle factors in causing these neoplasms. Furthermore, the causes of these diseases may differ in men and women.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Potter JD (1996) Nutrition and colorectal cancer. Cancer Causes Control 7:127–146
Tavani A, Braga C, La Vecchia C, Conti E, Filiberti R, Montella M, et al (1999) Physical activity and risk of cancers of the colon and rectum: an Italian case-control study. Br J Cancer 79:1912–1916
Tavani A, Fioretti F, Franceschi S, Gallus S, Negri E, Montella M, et al (1999) Education, socioeconomic status and risk of cancer of the colon and rectum. Int J Epidemiol 28:380–385
Chyou PH, Nomura AM, Stemmermann GN (1996) A prospective study of colon and rectal cancer among Hawaii Japanese men. Ann Epidemiol 6:276–282
La Vecchia C, Negri E, Decarli A, D'Avanzo B, Gallotti L, Gentile A, et al (1988) A case-control study of diet and colo-rectal cancer in northern Italy. Int J Cancer 41:492–498
Hu JF, Liu YY, Yu YK, Zhao TZ, Liu SD, Wang QQ (1991) Diet and cancer of the colon and rectum: a case-control study in China. Int J Epidemiol 20:362–367
Graham S, Dayal H, Swanson M, Mittelman A, Wilkinson G (1978) Diet in the epidemiology of cancer of the colon and rectum. J Natl Cancer Inst 61:709–714
Phillips RL, Snowdon DA (1985) Dietary relationships with fatal colorectal cancer among Seventh-Day Adventists. J Natl Cancer Inst 74:307–317
Freudenheim JL, Graham S, Marshall JR, Haughey BP, Cholewinski S, Wilkinson G (1991) Folate intake and carcinogenesis of the colon and rectum. Int J Epidemiol 20:368–374
Kreger BE, Anderson KM, Schatzkin A, Splansky GL (1992) Serum cholesterol level, body mass index, and the risk of colon cancer. The Framingham Study. Cancer 70:1038–1043
Garabrant DH, Peters JM, Mack TM, Bernstein L (1984) Job activity and colon cancer risk. Am J Epidemiol 119:1005–1014
Gerhardsson M, Norell SE, Kiviranta H, Pedersen NL, Ahlbom A (1986) Sedentary jobs and colon cancer. Am J Epidemiol 123:775–780
Kune GA, Kune S, Vitetta L, Watson LF (1992) Smoking and colorectal cancer risk: data from the Melbourne Colorectal Cancer Study and brief review of literature. Int J Cancer 50:369–372
Ishiguro S (1988) An epidemiological study on the incidence of colorectal cancer in Aomori Prefecture (in Japanese). Jpn J Gastroenterol 85:1475–1482
Bureau of Public Health, Ministry of Health and Welfare (1948–1995) The state of national nutrition in Japan (in Japanese). Daiich, Tokyo
Ministry of Health and Welfare (1999) Vital statistics of Japan 1997 (in Japanese). Statistics and Information Department, Minister's Secretariat, Tokyo
Ministry of Finance (1953–1998) Population of Japan, 1950–1995. Bureau of Statistics, Office of the Prime Minister Yamato Sogo, Tokyo
Jernvall P, Makinen MJ, Karttunen TJ, Makela J, Vihko P (1999) Microsatellite instability: impact on cancer progression in proximal and distal colorectal cancers. Eur J Cancer 35:197–201
Bleeker WA, Hayes VM, Karrenbeld A, Hofstra RM, Hermans J, Buys CC, Plukker JT (2000) Impact of KRAS and TP53 mutations on survival in patients with left- and right-sided Dukes' C colon cancer. Am J Gastroenterol 95:2953–2957
Gardner W, Mulvey EP, Shaw EC (1995) Regression analyses of counts and rates: Poisson, overdispersed Poisson and negative binomial models. Psychol Bull 118:392–404
McCullagh P, Nelder JA (1989) Generalized linear models, 2nd edn. Chapman & Hall, London
Anonymous (ed) (1999) Development and achievement for 2 years. 51th Meeting of Japanese Association of Colorectal Cancer
Levin B (1992) Nutrition and colorectal cancer. Cancer 70:1723–1726
Boutron MC, Wilpart M, Faivre J (1991) Diet and colorectal cancer. Eur J Cancer Prev [Suppl 2]:13–20
Munakata A, Iwane S, Ohta M, Nakaji S, Sugawara K, Mori B (1995) Time trend of dietary fiber in Japan, 1917–1991. J Epidemiol 5:205–210
Nakaji S, Sugawara K, Saito D, Yoshioka Y, MacAuley D, Bradley T, Kernohan G, Baxter D (2002) Trends in dietary fiber intake in Japan over the last century. Eur J Nutr 41:222–227
Haenszel W, Kurihara M (1968) Studies of Japanese migrants. I. Mortality from cancer and other diseases among Japanese in the United States. J Natl Cancer Inst 40:43–68
Mamazza J, Gordon PH (1982) The changing distribution of large intestinal cancer. Dis Colon Rectum 25:558–562
Loffeld R, Putten A, Balk A (1996) Changes in the localization of colorectal cancer: implications for clinical practice. J Gastroenterol Hepatol 11:47–50
Miller A, Gorska M, Bassett M (2000) Proximal shift of colorectal cancer in the Australian Capital Territory over 20 years. Aust N Z J Med 30:221–225
Slater G, Papatestas AE, Tartter PI, Mulvihill M, Aufses AH Jr (1982) Age distribution of right- and left-sided colorectal cancers. Am J Gastroenterol 77:63–66
Pfister DG, Horwitz RI (1987) The rightward shift of colon cancer. Aging or artifact? J Clin Gastroenterol 9:58–61
Demers RY, Severson RK, Schottenfeld D, Lazar L (1997) Incidence of colorectal adenocarcinoma by anatomic subsite. An epidemiologic study of time trends and racial differences in the Detroit, Michigan area. Cancer 79:441–447
Fleshner P, Slater G, Aufses AH Jr (1989) Age and sex distribution of patients with colorectal cancer. Dis Colon Rectum 32:730
Slater GI, Haber RH, Aufses AH Jr (1984) Changing distribution of carcinoma of the colon and rectum. Surg Gynecol Obstet 158:216–28
Davila J, El-Serag H, Rabeneck L (2002) Is there a true "shift" to the right in the incidence of colorectal cancer? Ann Epidemiol 12:515–519
Parkin DM, Muir CS, Whelan SL, Gao, YT, Ferlay J, Powell J (eds) (1992) Cancer incidence in five continents, vols II–VI. International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Nakaji, S., Umeda, T., Shimoyama, T. et al. Environmental factors affect colon carcinoma and rectal carcinoma in men and women differently. Int J Colorectal Dis 18, 481–486 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00384-003-0485-0
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00384-003-0485-0