US cancer deaths in the under 50s have dropped since 1990, except for bowel cancer

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2026-01-23 03:00

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Acute myelocytic leukaemia (AML) CC-0. Story by Dr Joe Milton, Australian Science Media Centre

US scientists say cancer deaths among the under 50s dropped for every type of cancer between 1990 and 2023, apart from colorectal cancer. The team looked at US health records for the period, during which a total of 1,267,520 people died of cancer before hitting 50. Between 1990 and 2023, the death rate decreased by 44%, from 25.5 deaths per 100,000 people to 14.2. Looking at the decade between 2014 and 2023, the team found deaths from breast cancer fell by 1.4%, brain cancer by 0.3%, leukaemia by 2.3%, and lung cancer by 5.7%. However, colorectal cancer deaths increased by 1.1%. This takes colorectal cancer from the fifth most common cancer death in the under 50s in 1990 to the most common cancer death in 2023, they say. Colorectal cancer screening should begin at age 45 for people with an average risk, and earlier for people with a genetic or family history that increases their risk, the authors recommend.

News release

From: JAMA

Leading Cancer Deaths in People Younger Than 50 Years

About The Study: Mortality has decreased for every leading cancer-related death in people younger than 50 years in the U.S. except colorectal cancer, which is now the leading cancer death in females and males combined, up from the fifth-leading cancer death in the early 1990s. Breast cancer and leukemia mortality decreased despite increasing incidence.

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conference: JAMA

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Organisation/s: American Cancer Society, USA

Funder: This work was funded by the American Cancer Society.

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