Cancer
Young Women are at Increasing Risk for Cancers, Including Colorectal Cancer (CRC) Ella Sukup* Ella Sukup David
Since the inception of the US “war on cancer” in 1971, the incidence rate of cancer in the
US (using NCI SEER Data, 1975-2021 for all cancer sites combined) has continued to gradually
increase. Among females, annual incidence rates of cancer (NCI SEER data, all sites combined)
have risen from 366.9 (95% CI 362.5 – 371.3) per 100,000 in 1975 to 431.5 (95% CI 428.2 –
434.7) per 100,000 in 2021. For males, annual incidence rates of cancer have risen more
gradually from 466.4 (95% CI 460.5 – 472.4) per 100,000 in 1975 to 479.2 (95% CI 475.7 – 482.7)
per 100,000 in 2021.
Strikingly, the incidence rate of cancer (any sites combined) among young women (ages
15-39 years) has risen from 71.3 (95% CI 68.0 – 74.5) to 99.7 (95% CI 96.8 – 102.7) between
1975 and 2021, a cumulative increase of 40%. As illustrated in Figure 1, this increase is
significantly larger than that observed in males in the same age group over the same period of
time.
Looking at specific sites, a concerning rise in the incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC)
can be seen in both males and females aged 15-39 years. In the two decades leading to 2021,
the annual percentage change (APC) in the incidence of CRC was 3.3% for both sexes combined.
Notably, the incidence of colorectal cancer grew more quickly during this time period for
females. By 2021, the annual incidence of CRC was 6.3 (95% CI 5.6 – 7.1) per 100,000 females
ages 15-39 and 5.4 (95% CI 4.8 – 6.1) per 100,000 males in the same age group. Indeed, in
2021, the annual incidence of CRC in young women (6.2 per 100,000; 95% CI 5.5 – 7.0)
exceeded the annual incidence of cervical cancer (5.4 per 100,000; 95% CI 4.6 – 6.2) in this
same group.
Using NCI SEER data, the authors will present additional analyses highlighting the rise
of cancer in young people, specifically young women, hypotheses of risk factors contributing
to the elevated incidence of cancer in these groups, and proposed public health approaches
focusing on cancer in young people in the US.
