US Under-50 Colon Cancer Screening Reaches 49.8% as Income and Sex Gaps Persist
Updated
Updated · Medscape · Jul 23
US Under-50 Colon Cancer Screening Reaches 49.8% as Income and Sex Gaps Persist
3 articles · Updated · Medscape · Jul 23
Summary
49.8% of Americans aged 45-49 were up to date on colorectal cancer screening in 2024, up from 34.5% in 2021 after guidelines lowered the starting age to 45.
53,127-person survey data showed the gains were uneven: higher-income households, women and non-Hispanic people were screened more often, while lower-income groups and men lagged.
580,000 Kaiser Permanente members aged 45-49 saw screening climb from under 5% before 2022 to 50% in 2025 after mailed FIT outreach, with nearly all of the increase coming from stool-test screening.
14.5% of 5,418 adults aged 18-44 undergoing diagnostic colonoscopy had precancerous polyps; rates rose to 18.1% at ages 35-44, were higher in men, and doubled in smokers.
The findings come as colorectal cancer incidence in under-50s has nearly doubled since the 1990s and is rising 1%-2% a year, underscoring calls for more targeted outreach.