Overview
- News reports Thursday, ahead of a DDW presentation next month, detailed a Pathiyil analysis of 1999–2023 CDC death records showing rectal cancer mortality in adults 20–44 rising two to three times faster than colon cancer.
- The steepest increases were reported in Hispanic adults and in Western states, with the sharpest climb in people ages 35–44.
- Using a statistical model that extends recent trends (ARIMA), the authors estimate rectal cancer deaths could overtake colon cancer deaths by 2035 if current patterns persist.
- Doctors urge fast evaluation of rectal bleeding or changes in bowel habits in people under 45 and call for wider use of flexible sigmoidoscopy to inspect the rectum.
- Younger adults often wait about seven months from first symptoms to diagnosis, and roughly three in four under 50 are diagnosed at advanced stages, which raises death rates despite screening that now begins at age 45.