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The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is marking Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month 2025 by highlighting the most recent advances that IARC researchers have made towards understanding this disease, and in particular towards understanding the increasing incidence rates of colorectal cancer among younger people.
Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly occurring cancer type and the second most common cause of cancer death globally. IARC’s most recently published figures estimate that there are about 1.9 million new cases of colorectal cancer and more than 900 000 deaths due to colorectal cancer worldwide each year.
The incidence rates of colorectal cancer in people younger than 50 years have been increasing for at least 20 years, and some sources report an increase for 30 years or more. This trend is deeply concerning, and IARC researchers are working to uncover the underlying causes as well as innovative ways to diagnose populations at risk.
Initiatives such as the Discovering the Causes of Three Poorly Understood Cancers in Europe (DISCERN) project and the Identification and Development of Novel Colorectal Cancer Biomarkers via State-of-the-Art Liquid Biopsy Approaches (ColoMARK) project are examples of the studies that IARC scientists are undertaking to prevent and detect colorectal cancer.
Continued collaboration among all stakeholders, including research agencies, patients, funders, and clinicians, is essential to make meaningful progress, accelerate discoveries, and translate them into action.
Read more about IARC projects on colorectal cancer
