A recent report from the American Cancer Society confirmed that colorectal cancer is on the rise in young people, stating it’s the leading cause of cancer death in men and the second leading cause in women under 50 years old. While colorectal cancer is highly treatable, early detection and prevention are key.

A colonoscopy, which involves using a flexible tube with a tiny camera to examine the colon, is effective at detecting and removing precancerous polyps and can identify other cancerous tissue. However, the screening is typically recommended for individuals ages 45 to 75. Here’s what to know about colonoscopies and colorectal cancer, as well as the situations that might warrant the procedure before the recommended age.

Dr. Harika Balagoni, a gastroenterologist at Mayo Clinic Health System in La Crosse, Wis., says that colorectal cancer risk factors can be divided into ones you can modify and ones you can’t. Nonmodifiable factors include age, personal history of colon polyps or cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, family history of colorectal cancer and certain hereditary syndromes. Ethnicity also plays a role, with higher rates in certain groups such as American Indian and Alaska Native populations, African Americans and Ashkenazi Jews.

Factors that can be modified include lifestyle choices, such as smoking, alcohol consumption, a diet high in red meat and being sedentary, along with obesity. Researchers suspect that these risk factors play a role in the rising rates of young people getting cancer, generally, and colorectal cancer in particular, in the U.S. Understanding these factors is important for assessing an individual’s risk and taking preventive measures, like getting a colonoscopy. However, experts say that not everyone with one or more of these risk factors should automatically get a colonoscopy.