Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Oct;14(10):101174.
doi: 10.1016/j.tranon.2021.101174. Epub 2021 Jul 6.

Global colorectal cancer burden in 2020 and projections to 2040

Yue Xi  1 , Pengfei Xu  2
Affiliations
Review

Global colorectal cancer burden in 2020 and projections to 2040

Yue Xi et al. Transl Oncol. 2021 Oct.

Abstract

As the third most common malignancy and the second most deadly cancer, colorectal cancer (CRC) induces estimated 1.9 million incidence cases and 0.9 million deaths worldwide in 2020. The incidence of CRC is higher in highly developed countries, and it is increasing in middle- and low-income countries due to westernization. Moreover, a rising incidence of early-onset CRC is also emerging. The large number of CRC cases poses a growing global public health challenge. Raising awareness of CRC is important to promote healthy lifestyle choices, novel strategies for CRC management, and implementation of global screening programs, which are critical to reducing CRC morbidity and mortality in the future. CRC is a heterogeneous disease, and its subtype affiliation influences prognosis and therapeutic response. An accurate CRC subtype classification system is of great significance for basic research and clinical outcome. Here, we present the global epidemiology of CRC in 2020 and projections for 2040, review the major CRC subtypes to better understand CRC molecular basis, and summarize current risk factors, prevention, and screening strategies for CRC.

Keywords: Colorectal cancer; Epidemiology; Prevention; Projection; Risk factors.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

None.

Figures

Image, graphical abstract
Graphical abstract
Fig 1
Fig. 1
Estimates and proportion of incident cases and deaths of major cancer types worldwide in 2020. (A)Estimated number of new cancer cases in 2020 worldwide. (B) Estimated number of cancer-related deaths in 2020 worldwide. Source: GLOBOCAN 2020.
Fig 2
Fig. 2
Top 10 and bottom 10 countries for estimated age-standardized CRC incidence in 2020. Data are derived from GLOBOCAN 2020.
Fig 3
Fig. 3
Estimated age-standardized CRC incidence by regions in 2020 except China and India. HDI, Human Development Index.
Fig 4
Fig. 4
The number of new CRC cases in top 10 countries with highest incident cases in 2020 and projections for 2040.
Fig 5
Fig. 5
Deaths from CRC in top 10 countries with highest incident cases in 2020 and projections for 2040.
Fig 6
Fig. 6
Four consensus molecular subtypes of CRC and their key distinguishing features.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Dekker E., Tanis P.J., Vleugels J.L.A., Kasi P.M., Wallace M.B. Colorectal cancer. Lancet. 2019;394:1467–1480. - PubMed
    1. Guren M.G. The global challenge of colorectal cancer. Lancet Gastroenterol. Hepatol. 2019;4:894–895. - PubMed
    1. Schreuders E.H., Ruco A., Rabeneck L., Schoen R.E., Sung J.J., Young G.P., Kuipers E.J. Colorectal cancer screening: a global overview of existing programmes. Gut. 2015;64:1637–1649. - PubMed
    1. Schliemann D., Matovu N., Ramanathan K., Munoz-Aguirre P., O'Neill C., Kee F., Su T.T., Donnelly M. Implementation of colorectal cancer screening interventions in low-income and middle-income countries: a scoping review protocol. BMJ Open. 2020;10 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Rabeneck L., Chiu H.M., Senore C. International perspective on the burden of colorectal cancer and public health effects. Gastroenterology. 2020;158:447–452. - PubMed