Daily Junction.mobi portal<p>At present, the most useful ways of reducing your risk of bowel cancer remain the ones supported by strong evidence. </p>
<p>This includes <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/colorectal-cancer/screening/index.html">bowel cancer screening</a>, which can find cancers at an <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/tests-and-treatments/bowel-cancer-screening/">earlier, more treatable stage</a> and can sometimes prevent cancer by detecting and removing precancerous growths called polyps. Maintaining a healthy weight, being physically active, not smoking, limiting alcohol intake and eating less processed meat can also <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38672612/">reduce risk</a>. </p>
<p>Symptoms such as blood in the stool, a persistent change in bowel habits, unexplained weight loss or ongoing abdominal discomfort should not be ignored, although they are often caused by <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25093007/">conditions other than cancer</a>.</p>
<p>The wider significance of this research may be what it tells us about the causes of cancer. We tend to think of bowel cancer mainly in terms of genes, ageing and lifestyle. But some cancers also have an infectious component. </p>
<p>The possibility that an infection acquired in childhood could influence the risk of bowel cancer decades later therefore deserves serious investigation.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/291589/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p>
<p><span><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/justin-stebbing-1405462">Justin Stebbing</a>, Professor of Biomedical Sciences, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/anglia-ruskin-university-1887">Anglia Ruskin University</a></em></span></p>
<p>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-common-stomach-infection-may-be-linked-to-bowel-cancer-heres-what-we-know-291589">original article</a>.</p> </div>