Colorectal (Colon) Cancer Incidence Rates
Screening saves lives: all men and women aged 50 years or older should get regular screening for colorectal cancer.
Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in the United States. In 2005 (the most recent year for which statistics are available), more than 141,000 Americans were told they have colorectal cancer, including 72,007 men and 69,398 women.
"Incidence rate" means how many people out of a given number get the disease in a year. The graph shows how many people out of 100,000 got colorectal cancer in 2005. The colorectal cancer incidence rate is grouped by race/ethnicity and gender and age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population.
Men and women had significantly different incidence rates. Black men the highest rates; 64.9 out of every 100,000 black men were diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2005. White men were second with a rate of 55.4 per 100,000, followed by Hispanic† men (46.8), Asian/Pacific Islander men (40.6), and American Indian/Alaska Native men (34.3).
Among women, black women were the most likely to be diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2005, at a rate of 49.4 per 100,000. White women were second at 40.8, followed by Hispanic† women at 33.9, Asian/Pacific Islander women at 32.2, and American Indian/Alaska Native women at 24.5.
†Hispanics are not mutually exclusive from whites, blacks, Asians/Pacific Islanders, and American Indians/Alaska Natives.
Reducing Risk
Colorectal cancer screening saves lives. However, many people who are at risk for colorectal cancer are not being screened according to national guidelines. It is estimated that as many as 60% of colorectal cancer deaths could be prevented if all men and women aged 50 years or older were screened routinely.
Data source: U.S. Cancer Statistics Working Group. United States Cancer Statistics: 1999–2005 Incidence and Mortality Web-based Report. Atlanta (GA): Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and National Cancer Institute; 2009. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/uscs.
More Information
- CDC Colorectal (Colon) Cancer
- CDC Colorectal Cancer Feature
- Listen to podcasts about colorectal cancer
- Send a Screening Health-e-Card in English or Spanish
