James Van Der Beek’s dying at age 48 highlights a tragic statistic: Extra folks below 50 are getting colorectal most cancers.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Dawson’s Creek star James Van Der Beek died this week, lower than two years after he introduced he had colorectal most cancers. He was solely 48, and that sort of most cancers is turning into extra lethal amongst folks below 50. NPR’s Yuki Noguchi is right here to speak extra about this. Good morning.
YUKI NOGUCHI, BYLINE: Good morning, Leila.
FADEL: Yuki, what is occurring with colorectal most cancers, and the way does it stack up towards different cancers?
NOGUCHI: You understand, you might say colorectal most cancers is bucking the developments with this illness. You understand, general, most cancers survival is a good information story. You understand, 70% of individuals recognized with some type of most cancers in the present day reside 5 or extra years, which is a large enchancment over simply a few many years, you already know, and that is largely thanks to higher expertise, you already know, to detect or goal most cancers for remedy.
However then there’s the baffling story of colorectal most cancers, which is now the third commonest most cancers. It is much less frequent than lung or breast, however it’s now the most important most cancers killer for these below 50. And, actually, in the event you take a look at older folks, colorectal most cancers dying charges are declining. Demise charges from the most typical cancers amongst younger persons are additionally declining, once more, apart from colorectal most cancers. And that is growing at a really fast price of 1.1% yearly for the previous twenty years, based on the American Most cancers Society.
FADEL: Why?
NOGUCHI: Yeah. I imply, that may be a huge query. Why are these charges growing? There are theories that weight loss program or environmental components could also be driving up these, you already know, new most cancers dying charges. However there are nonetheless no definitive solutions as to why it is growing.
FADEL: In 2021, the advisable age for colonoscopy screenings went down from age 50 to 45. Has that helped catch extra of those cancers?
NOGUCHI: It has. Colonoscopy suggestions have been modified exactly due to this pattern of seeing extra superior illness occurring in youthful sufferers. And, actually, now, you already know, half of colorectal most cancers instances on this age group are recognized between the ages of 45 and 49. So, you already know, colorectal cancers are inclined to develop slowly, so that they’re fairly treatable if caught early, which makes detection so essential.
However one of many issues amongst youthful adults – and, you already know, this may be true of many cancers – is that they are much less prone to suspect most cancers and due to this fact extra prone to ignore signs. And that is why it is typically caught at a later stage for youthful sufferers. The signs to look at for on this case are modifications in bowel habits, belly ache or rectal bleeding. You must also say, Leila, that, you already know, entry to screening is a perennial challenge. You understand, you persistently see racial disparities affect screening and survival charges.
FADEL: So what are a few of the methods to enhance detection early?
NOGUCHI: There may be sturdy genetic or hereditary drivers of cancers, particularly, you already know, early-onset cancers. So in the event you’re at a better threat due to household historical past, getting screened sooner than age 45 might be a good suggestion. And in addition, you already know, most cancers is a fancy illness, and way of life, particularly not smoking or consuming alcohol or getting plenty of good weight loss program and train are each preventative and good for restoration.
FADEL: NPR well being correspondent Yuki Noguchi. Thanks a lot on your reporting.
NOGUCHI: Thanks.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Go to our web site phrases of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for additional data.
Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts might fluctuate. Transcript textual content could also be revised to right errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org could also be edited after its unique broadcast or publication. The authoritative file of NPR’s programming is the audio file.
