Colorectal Cancer Rising Among Young People: What To Know

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Actor James Van Der Beek, who is best known for his role as Dawson Leery in the ’90s teen drama series “Dawson’s Creek,” died Wednesday. While his official cause of death is currently unknown, the actor was battling colorectal cancer.

The 48-year-old’s diagnosis, which he revealed in 2024, is part of a concerning rise in colorectal cancer rates ― which groups together colon and rectal cancer because of their similarities ― in younger people throughout the world.

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A report by the American Cancer Society found that colorectal cancer diagnoses nearly doubled in people younger than 55 in recent years; it increased from 11% in 1995 to 20% in 2019. And the report says there’s a higher rate of advanced-stage colorectal cancer diagnoses, which increased from 52% in the mid-2000s to 60% in 2019.

Even before this data was available, doctors and researchers had been aware of this rise in cases.

“We have seen an alarming and unsettling increase in the instance of colorectal cancer in younger people,” said Dr. Robin Mendelsohn, co-director of the Center for Young Onset Colorectal and Gastrointestinal Cancer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. “It’s been increasing about 1 to 2% per year since the 1990s.”

The overall numbers are small, but, still, any increase is cause for concern.