Colorectal Cancer Rates Shifting to Younger Groups as Rectal Cancer Rates Spike

WEDNESDAY, March 4, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Colon cancer, long considered a disease of the elderly, is increasingly striking younger Americans, according to a startling new report.

Nearly half of new colon cancer diagnoses — about 45% — now occur in people under 65, according to the report from the American Cancer Society (ACS).

This is a massive jump from 1995, when those folks accounted for only 27% of cases. The trend is especially striking for cancer of the rectum, which accounts for up nearly one-third of all these cancer diagnoses.

For the report, which is done every three years, the ACS analyzed population-based cancer registries and death data from the National Center for Health Statistics. 

While overall rates of colon and rectal cancer declined by 0.9% annually from 2013 to 2022, the drop was driven by 2.5% annual decreases among seniors. 

Younger groups, however, saw their rates spike (3% annually in 20- to 49-year-olds and 0.4% annually in those between 50 and 64). 

Cancers of the colon and rectum are now the leading cause of cancer death for adults under 50. 

Experts project that this year alone, 158,850 Americans will be diagnosed and 55,230 will die from the cancer of the colon or rectum.

“After decades of progress, the risk of dying from colorectal cancer is climbing in younger men and women, confirming a real uptick in disease because of something we’re doing or some other exposure,” said study author Rebecca Siegel, senior scientific director at the ACS. 

In a news release, she emphasized the need for earlier detection, noting that "the five-year survival for early disease is more than 90%."

Where these cancers occur also seems to be undergoing a shift toward the lower colon, near the rectum and the rectum itself. 

Rectal cancer now makes up nearly one‑third (32%) of these diagnoses (up from 27% in the mid‐2000s). Between 2019 and 2022, rates rose 1% a year among all age groups.

Alaska Native people face the highest burden in the country, with 80.9 cases per 100,000 — more than double the rate of these cancers seen in white populations. American Indians have the second-highest rates. 

These figures have prompted calls for specialized research and better health care access for these groups.

Though lifestyle factors like diet, smoking and physical inactivity play a role, late diagnosis is a contributor to the high rates among working-age Americans. 

In all, 3 of 4 adults under 50 are diagnosed only after their cancer has reached an advanced stage, according to the report.

While guidelines now recommend screening start at age 45, the report found that only 37% of people between 45 and 49 are actually getting tested. 

“These findings further underscore that colorectal cancer is worsening among younger generations and highlight the immediate need for eligible adults to begin screening at the recommended age of 45,” said Dr. William Dahut, chief scientific officer at the ACS.

The findings were published March 2 in CA: A Cancer Journal For Clinicians.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides an overview on colon cancer screening.

SOURCES: American Cancer Society, news release, March 2, 2026; CA: A Cancer Journal For Clinicians, March 2, 2026