Colorectal Cancer Has Become More Common Among Younger People

This pattern suggests that lifestyle habits and exposures to things in the environment that have become more common in recent decades play a role. Scientists suspect those might include greater use of antibiotics; exposure to microplastics and so-called “forever chemicals”; less physical activity; or increased consumption of processed foods and sugar.

The actor James Van Der Beek died on Wednesday 2/11/2026 at 48, less than two years after revealing he had been diagnosed with colorectal cancer, which has become more common among younger adults.

In the United States, the incidence of early-onset colorectal cancers diagnosed in people under 50 has increased by an average of 1 to 2 percent per year since the mid-1990s, according to the American Cancer Society. The steepest increases have occurred among the youngest age groups.

While deaths from cancer overall have declined significantly in recent decades, deaths from colorectal cancer have increased among adults under 50. The disease is now the leading cause of cancer-related death in adults in this age group, surpassing lung and breast cancer.

This excerpt is quoted from NYT Gift Article on 2/16/2026.