Medscape Now! The Changing Demographics of Colorectal Cancer Authors: ​Naseem Bazargan, MPH

https://www.medscape.org/viewarticle/medscape-now-changing-demographics-colorectal-cancer-2026a1000at2?page=1 Colorectal cancer (CRC) ranks as the second most common cause of cancer-related death in the United States, with 158,850 new cases and 55,230 deaths anticipated in 2026.[1] While the overall age-standardized incidence of CRC has declined by approximately 46% from its peak of 66.2 per 100,000 in 1985 to 35.5 per 100,000 in 2019, driven largely by screening uptake and modifiable risk factor reduction, this progress masks a generational divergence.[1,2] Namely, incidence has continued to fall by 2.5% annually among adults aged 65 years and older, while incidence among adults aged 20 to 49 years has increased by approximately 3% annually.[3] Among those aged 50 to 64 years, rates have been stable or rising modestly (+0.4% annually).