Doctor’s Warn That Colon Cancer Rates Are on the Rise in Young Adults

When people hear the word cancer, their mind typically jumps to the worst-case scenario. And, while many types of cancers are on the decline — for example, the CancerNetwork says that brain cancer rates have dropped four percent as of 2025 — there are other types of cancer, like those that affect the colon, that are on the rise.

It's not just the rates that are rising, either. Colon cancer is also taking more lives than previously before, leaving doctors worried about the future.

But why is colon cancer on the rise? And what demographics is it hitting the hardest? To answer that we looked into what the experts were saying about the disease. According to them, the rates are seeing a huge spike for a certain age group, and they are getting hit the negative outcomes, which is increasingly death.

Keep reading to learn more about colon cancer's rise and how you can make sure you're getting screened when you're supposed to be checked for the disease.

As of 2026, colon cancer was the leading cause of death for those under the age of 50, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

According to the findings of the study, colorectal cancer mortality rose by a single percent every year since 2025. That news comes as the overall mortality rate for cancers in the same age group has dropped by 44 percent. The JAMA study was conducted by reviewing data from 1.3 million people under the age of 50.

The data is based on cancer deaths from those who passed in 1990 through 2023. Back in 1990, colon cancer was the fifth leading cause of cancer deaths. As the years went on it quickly became the first, a milestone experts didn't think would happen until 2030.

The JAMA study also found that breast cancer was the leading cause of cancer deaths in women. But, the study had some good news, and those death rates appear to be on the decline, and have dropped 1.4 percent annually from 2014 to 2023.

According to NBC News, researchers believe that the number of young people getting colon cancer is on the rise because of lifestyle choices. That includes diets that rely heavily on ultra-processed foods, increasing obesity rates, a decline in physical activity, and maybe even changes to the body's gut microbiome in general.

And, the timing seems to support this theory, since these lifestyle choices seemed to have become more widespread starting in the 1980s. However, that's not all they think.

Rebecca Siegel, the woman who led the study, told NBC News that while it likely that there was a connection between rising colon cancer rates and lifestyle choices, that wasn't the only thing happening, saying “it’s thought that other factors are at play and that these are not the sole reason for the increase."

As such, she says that it's incredibly important for people who are experiencing symptoms — like cramping or blood in the stool — or who have a family history to get screened.

Those without symptoms should also start regular screenings at 45, which is when the U.S> Preventative Services Task Force says universal screenings should begin. “Half of the people diagnosed before age 50 are aged 45 to 49, so they are screening-eligible,” Siegel added.