People born in the 90's face increased risk of colon cancers

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Tuesday, February 28, 2017
A patient is seen in a hospital in this undated image.
A patient is seen in a hospital in this undated image.
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SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- If you were born in the 1990's a new study suggests your risk of getting colon or rectal cancer is rising.

Researchers at the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute conducted the study.

They found that people born in the 90's have twice the risk of colon cancer, and five times the risk of rectal cancer than if they had been born in 1950.

The data was taken from 500,000 cases of colorectal cancer over 40 years and does not indicate why the rates are rising.