Colorectal cancer rates have been rising among younger adults, prompting the US Preventive Services Task Force in 2021 to lower the recommended age for screening from 50 to 45. Two recent studies in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggest this move is yielding results: screenings among adults aged 45 to 49 have surged, and early-stage cancer detection in this group has climbed sharply, STAT News reports.
Researchers found that screening rates for 45- to 49-year-olds rose from about 20% in 2021 to roughly 33% by 2023, while rates among those just older remained stable. Researchers also observed a roughly 50% increase in early, localized colorectal cancer diagnoses in this age group following the guideline change. The adjustment appears to be helping catch cancers before they advance, when five-year survival rates exceed 90%, compared to just 13% for the most advanced cases.
The findings address earlier concerns that younger adults might not follow screening advice and clarify that increased testing in this age group hasn't reduced access for older patients. Still, access remains uneven, with uninsured populations seeing little improvement in screening rates. Experts note that insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act plays a key role in making these preventive measures cost-free for many. One study found that the most effective way to boost participation was to mail stool tests to people by default, without requiring them to opt in—a method that outperformed others by a significant margin.
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Analysts say the increased screening may explain a rise in early-stage diagnoses of colorectal cancer in younger adults, but they're still trying to find the cause of the wider rise in the cancer in younger people, which began in the mid-1990s. "The drivers of rising incidence are still unknown, but many research efforts are ongoing, with investigations covering the gamut from microplastics to ultra-processed food and many other gut exposures introduced in the last half of the 20th century, when this began," Elizabeth Schafer, at the American Cancer Society, tells CNN.
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