Risk Factors for Colorectal Cancer

A risk factor is anything that increases your chance for getting cancer. Your personal risk factors like family history, lifestyle and ethnicity will determine when you should start screening, and what type of screening test is right for you.

What are Personal Risk Factors?

• You or a close member of your family (parent, sibling, child) have had colorectal cancer. Your risk is higher when two or more family members have had colorectal cancer. It is also higher if one or more of your family members has colorectal cancer and is less than age 50.
• You have a history of benign polyps in the colon or rectum or related cancers, or have other bowel disease like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), chronic ulcerative colitis (CUC), or Crohn’s disease.
• You have a history of benign polyps in the colon or rectum or related cancers, or have other bowel disease like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), chronic ulcerative colitis (CUC), or Crohn’s disease.
• You have inherited diseases like Lynch syndrome (hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer) or FAP (familial adenomatous polyposis)
• You have other inherited diseases include Peutz-Jeghers Syndrome, MYH-Associated Polyposis (MAP), Gardner’s syndrome, Turcot’s (or Crail’s) syndrome, Cowden’s syndrome, Juvenile Polyposis, Cronkhite-Canada syndrome, Neurofibromatosis, or Familial Hyperplastic Polyposis.

To learn more about CRC, please talk to your personal healthcare provider or visit any of these websites for more information.

American Cancer Society
cancer.org

American College of Physicians
acponline.org

American College of Gastroenterology
gi.org

American Gastroenterology Association
gastro.org

Centers for Disease Control
CDC.gov/vitalsigns

Colon Cancer Alliance
ccalliance.org

Fight Colorectal Cancer
fightCRC.org

National Cancer Institute
cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/detection/colorectal-screening