A new study of 9,550 patients in Florida has concluded that certain groups of people are at a higher risk of a more dangerous type of colon cancer. This more dangerous type of cancer is located in the upper colon. Because of it's location, it is detected later than cancer in the lower colon, and therefore is deadlier.

     Published in Diseases of the Colon and Rectum, the journal of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons (ASCRS), the study concluded that women, blacks, and older people are at a higher risk for cancer higher in the colon. Risk was found to increase at a rate of 2.2% per year of age. Blacks have a 24% higher risk, and women face a 38% greater risk.

     The leader of the study, Dr. Eduardo Gonzalez, said that "Knowing which individuals may be at more risk for upper colon cancer will aid physicians in determining the best screening test to use with them."

     ASCRS president Dr. John MacKeigan, a surgeon at Michigan State University stated that "[Colon cancer] is a preventable and curable disease if detected and treated in its early stages. Screening is essential because colorectal cancer usually has no symptoms in its early stages."

     Everyone over the age of 50, those with a history of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, or a family history of colon cancer are recommended to receive regular screenings.