Having accurate facts about colon cancer and rectal cancer is very important. Whether you're reporting on a story, doing a homework assignment, raising awareness with family, or creating your own materials for Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, do your homework and get the numbers right.

Below are 2022 facts and stats about colorectal cancer. Need a fact check or information about something not listed below? Contact our media team.

Two interesting facts about colon cancer & rectal cancer

Colorectal cancer is the 2nd leading cause of cancer death among men and women combined in the United States.

1 in 23 men and 1 in 25 women will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer.

More important facts about this common cancer

25-30% of colorectal cancer patients have a family history of the disease.

1 in 3 people are not up-to-date with colorectal cancer screening. But affordable, take-home options exist.

60% of colorectal cancer deaths could be prevented with screening.

Black Americans are more likely to be diagnosed and die from colorectal cancer than most other groups.

Less than 50% of Asian Americans are up-to-date with colorectal cancer screening.

Indigenous communities have higher rates of colorectal cancer than their White counterparts.

Ashkenazi (Eastern European) Jews have one of the highest risks of colorectal cancer of any ethnic group in the world.

More Colorectal Cancer Statistics

Find additional facts about colon cancer and rectal cancer using the following sources:

• Statistic Sources:  National Cancer Institute, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, American Cancer Society
• State Statistics: Learn how to find state-specific data

Hopeful Figures & Facts About Colon Cancer

• The rate of people being diagnosed with colorectal cancer has been decreasing overall since the mid-1980s, due to increased screening among older adults.
• From 2013 to 2017, incidence rates dropped by about 1% each year, according to research by the American Cancer Society.
• The colorectal cancer death rate dropped by 55% from 1970 to 2018, due to changes in risk factors (including less people smoking); increased rates of colorectal cancer screening; and better treatments.
• There are more than 1.5 million survivors of colorectal cancer in the United States.
• The CDC estimates that 68% of deaths from colorectal cancer could be avoided if all eligible people got screened.
• The CDC created the Colorectal Cancer Control Program (CRCCP) and The Screen for Life: National Colorectal Cancer Action Campaign to increase colorectal cancer screening rates across the U.S.

Colorectal Cancer in Young Adults

While rates of colorectal cancer in older adults have been decreasing over the last several decades, rates of colorectal cancer in young adults are increasing.

1 in 10 colorectal cancers are diagnosed in patients under 50 years of age.

Here are a few key facts about colon cancer under 50:

• Rates of early-age onset colorectal cancer have been rising steadily since the mid-1990s.
• There was a 51% increase in cases of colorectal cancer in people age 20-49 from 1994 to 2012.
• Rates are increasing most rapidly among the American Indian/Alaska Native and Non-Hispanic White populations.
• The CRC death rate increased by 1.3% annually in people under 50 years between 2008 to 2017.
• Patients under 50 years of age are 58% more likely than older patients to be diagnosed with late stage disease (stage III or IV). 
• The incidence of is expected to increase by >140% by 2030.

"By 2030, the incidence of early-age onset (EAO) CRC — diagnoses under age 50 — is predicted to increase by more than 140%, meaning more than 27,000 people under age 50 will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer. We must act now."

—Anjee Davis, Fight Colorectal Cancer President

Causes of colorectal cancer in young adults

Why is this happening?

Studies suggest that lack of access to health care and a lack of awareness in both young patients and their doctors about the signs and symptoms of colon cancers and rectal cancers are causing the higher incidence of colon cancer and rectal cancer in young adults under age 50.

Read more about colorectal cancer in young adults.