Anonymous21 days ago
Colorectal cancer has risen from the fifth-leading cause of cancer death among Americans under 50 in the 1990s to the first by 2023, even as overall cancer mortality in that age group dropped 44%. A convergence of factors—ultraprocessed diets, gut microbiome disruption, diagnostic delays, and racial disparities in care—is driving a crisis that defies the broader progress against cancer, with researchers racing to understand why younger generations are disproportionately affected.