News: Incidence of pancreatic and colorectal cancer increasing more rapidly in young people, study shows

Annual percentage changes (APC) for pancreatic cancer and colorectal cancers among young people 15-34 years of age have markedly increased in the last 20 years, according to a new study.

Researchers recently examined 275,273 cases of pancreatic cancer and 1,215,200 cases of colorectal cancer occurring from 2000 to 2021. Ultimately, they found that “the highest annual percentage change for both adenocarcinomas occurred in the youngest age groups (ages 15–34 and 35–54 years).”

For pancreatic cancers, the APC for those in the 15–34 age cohort was 4.35; by contrast, those in the 55 years or older cohort had an APC of 1.74, and those in the 35–54 age cohort had an APC of 1.54.

For pancreatic cancer patients, the racial breakdown across all ages was 14,920 Asian or Pacific Islander individuals (5.4%), 33,941 Black individuals (12.3%), 1,161 American Indian or Alaska Native individuals (0.4%), and 225,251 white individuals (91.8%).

On the other hand, for colorectal cancer, those in the 15-34 age cohort had an APC of 1.75; by contrast, whereas those in the 55 years of older cohort had a negative APC of -3.31, those in the 35–54 age cohort had an APC of 0.78.

For colorectal cancer patients, the racial breakdown across all ages was 75,872 Asian or Pacific Islander individuals (6.2%), 148,050 Black individuals (12.2%), 6,194 American Indian or Alaska Native individuals (0.5%), and 985,082 white individuals (81.1%).

“In conclusion, we show in this national cohort the worrisome trend of increasing pancreatic adenocarcinoma in all age groups and the increasing incidence of colorectal adenocarcinoma in the youngest age groups,” the authors cautioned. “Heightened awareness of this trend is necessary when evaluating younger patients with possible corresponding symptoms.”

Editor’s note: To read the JAMA study, click here.