The rates of colon and rectal cancer in people under 55 continue to rise. Now millennials get colon cancer twice as much as other adults, and rectal cancer four times as much.
The American Cancer Society projects that there will be 106,590 new cases of colon cancer in 2024 and 46,220 new cases of rectal cancer. While incidence rates overall have dropped, that decline is driven by older populations. For people 55 and up, the rates of contracting colorectal cancer have been rising by 1% to 2% each year the past three decades.
Colorectal cancer is the second highest cause of cancer deaths in American adults. For people under 55, the death rate has been increasing by around 1% yearly for around 20 years, the American Cancer Society said.
People born in the 1990s get colon cancer twice as much, and rectal cancer four times as much, as adults outside that age range, according to the nonprofit Colon Cancer Coalition.
Whereas colorectal cancer was the fourth-leading cause of cancer deaths for men and women under 50 in the 1990s, now it’s the leading cause of cancer death for men under 50 and the second-highest cause of cancer death for women under 50, according to an ACS study.
Diet and lifestyle are driving these trends, according to one state health official.
“Recent generations eat more meat and processed food and consume more sugary drinks than earlier generations, while physical activity in this group has declined with decades. These are both factors known for an increase in cancer risks overall,” Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, director of the Ohio Department of Health, told the Dayton Daily News.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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