Rectal cancer mortality accelerates fastest among 20–44-year-olds, outpacing colon cancer

A study analyzing CDC death records (1999–2023) and projecting future trends, presented at Digestive Disease Week 2026, finds rectal cancer deaths rising two to three times faster than colon cancer in adults aged 20–44, with the steepest increases among 35–44-year-olds and Hispanics in Western states. The research highlights diagnostic and treatment delays for younger patients (averaging seven months to treatment vs. about one month for older adults) as a key driver and suggests screening strategies may need reevaluation to address this shifting burden.