Rectal cancer rates are climbing across all adult age groups, a stark reversal after decades of decline, according to the American Cancer Society. The report highlights a significant impact on younger populations.
Rectal cancer incidence has risen by 1% annually from 2018 to 2022. It now constitutes about one-third of all colorectal cancer diagnoses, up from one-quarter in the mid-2000s. This trend is a primary driver of increasing overall colorectal cancer diagnoses in adults under 65.
Specifically, colorectal cancer incidence is climbing 3% per year in individuals aged 20 to 49. Experts emphasize that colorectal cancer can no longer be considered solely an "old person's disease." Younger patients are frequently diagnosed at advanced stages, with about three out of four adults under 50 presenting with late-stage disease.
While older adults (over 65) are seeing a decline in incidence, colorectal cancer remains the leading cancer-related death for those under 50 and the second leading cause of cancer death overall. Potential contributing factors include lifestyle choices such as lack of exercise, smoking, alcohol consumption, excess body weight, and dietary habits involving processed meats and insufficient fiber intake.
Researchers are calling for doubled research efforts to pinpoint the causes of this "tsunami of cancer" in generations born since 1950 and to improve early detection through enhanced clinician and public education.