Colon and rectal cancer deaths in the U.S. are rising among people younger than 50, the only one of the five most common cancers to show such a trend. Researchers from the American Cancer Society analyzed changes in cancer mortality in the US from 1990 to 2023, focusing on the five leading causes of death in those under 50, as well as brain cancer, leukemia and lung cancer. During this period, 1.27 million people died of cancer before the age of 50, with the overall age-standardized death rate falling from 25.5 to 14.2 per 100,000 population, a decrease of 44%. The death rate for the other four types of cancer has decreased, but for colon and rectal cancer, on the contrary, it has increased. This cancer has moved from the 5th leading cause of death in 1991 to the leading cause of death in 2023 in this age group. The cause of this increase remains unknown.