New Report Shows More Young People Are Dying From Colorectal Cancer
It’s the latest in a growing body of evidence.
- A new report from the American Cancer Society found that colorectal cancer rates are increasing in young people.
- People under 50 are also developing more advanced colorectal cancer.
- There are some things you can do to lower your risk of colorectal cancer.
A growing body of evidence has suggested that more younger people are dying from colorectal cancer than ever before. And now, there’s even more proof that this is a serious problem.
A new report on cancer facts and trends released by the American Cancer Society (ACS) found that colorectal cancer is becoming a more advanced disease in younger people.
Researchers found that the proportion of people in the U.S. who were diagnosed with advanced-stage colorectal cancer increased from 52% in the mid-2000s to 60% in 2019. Diagnoses of advanced-stage colorectal cancer in people under 55 doubled from 11% in 1995 to 20% in 2019.
The report follows a study published last year in the journal Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers, & Prevention that also determined there is a rapid rise in colorectal diagnoses in younger people. The study analyzed 16 years of data from nearly 104,000 patients who developed adenocarcinoma, a type of colorectal cancer that is extremely aggressive. The researchers found that people in their 20s had a 133% increase in rectal-only, distant stage cancer; Those in their 30s had a 97% increase; and people in their 40s saw a 48% increase.
