RUN LOLA RUN –
May 21, 2026 – Nearly half of the runners had polyps, also known as adenomas, in their colons. Some of these polyps could develop into cancer. 15 % of the runners had large, advanced adenomas, “which are much farther along on the continuum to cancer.”
The number of adenomas, especially advanced polyps, was much higher than what typically has been seen during screening colonoscopies of adults in their late 40s. Historically, the incidence in that age group has ranged from about 1.2 to 6 percent.
“There does seem to be something potentially going on here” with the extreme runners, Cannon said.
News of the study’s results, published online this month in Cancer Epidemiology and presented last summer at an oncology conference, have been sparking urgent questions, concerns and skepticism among gastroenterologists and runners.
