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Rectal Cancer Incidence Rising After Decades of Decline as Colorectal Cancer Shifts Toward Younger Generations

pressroom.cancer.org

Rectal Cancer Incidence Rising After Decades of Decline as Colorectal Cancer Shifts Toward Younger Generations

Hacker News.

  • In 2026, an estimated 158,850 new cases of colorectal cancer will be diagnosed, and 55,230 people will die from the disease in the U.S.
  • Colorectal cancer incidence is rising in adults under 65 (by 3% per year in ages 20–49 and 0.4% per year in ages 50–64), driven by cancer occurrence in the distal colon and rectum.
  • Nearly half (45%) of new colorectal cancer cases are now occurring in adults under 65, up from 27% in 1995, signaling a major shift toward younger generations.
  • Three in 4 colorectal cancers in adults younger than 50 years are advanced stage (regional or distant) at diagnosis, and a little more than 1 in 4 (27%) are distant stage.
  • One-half (50%) of colorectal cancer diagnoses under age 50 are in people 45-49 years who are eligible for colorectal cancer screening, which prevents cancer as well as detecting asymptomatic disease.
  • Colorectal cancer mortality rates increased by 1% per year in both adults under 50, since 2004, and in adults aged 50-64, since 2019.
  • Colorectal cancer incidence and mortality continue to decrease in adults 65 and older by more than 2% per year.
  • Rectal cancer incidence increased in all ages combined by 1% per year from 2018 to 2022, reversing decades of decline.
  • Rectal cancer now accounts for about one-third (32%) of colorectal cancer diagnoses, up from one-fourth (27%) in the mid-2000s.
  • Alaska Native people have the highest colorectal cancer incidence (80.9 per 100,000) and mortality (31.5 per 100,000) in the U.S., more than 2-fold that of White people; American Indian people have the second-highest burden.

According to researchers, more than one-half of colorectal cancers are attributable to modifiable risk factors, such as smoking, an unhealthy diet, high alcohol consumption, physical inactivity, and excess body weight, and are potentially preventable. Many additional cases and deaths are preventable through appropriate screening and access to high‐quality treatment. Scientists found that half of all people diagnosed before 50 are ages 45-49 years and are eligible for screening. Yet, screening prevalence in this age group is just 37%, and 3 in 4 colorectal cancers in adults younger than 50 years are diagnosed at an advanced stage (regional or distant). The 5-year survival rate for local-stage disease is 95%.

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