ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Oncol.
Sec. Gastrointestinal Cancers: Colorectal Cancer
This article is part of the Research TopicNational Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month 2025: Current Progress and Future Prospects on Colorectal Cancer Prevention, Diagnosis and TreatmentView all 20 articles
Trends and Disparities in the United States Colorectal Cancer Mortality, 1999-2023: An Analysis of the CDC WONDER Database
Provisionally accepted
- Qingdao Municipal Hospital, Qingdao, China
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Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) remains the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States. This study systematically assessed the spatiotemporal evolution of CRC mortality from 1999 to 2023 and explored sociodemographic and geographic disparities. Methods: Death-certificate data for adults aged ≥25 years were extracted from the CDC WONDER database. CRC deaths were identified using ICD-10 codes C18–C20. Age-adjusted mortality rates (AAMR) were calculated with the 2000 U.S. standard population. Stratified analyses were performed by age, sex, race/ethnicity, census region, state, and National Center for Health Statistics urban–rural classification. Joinpoint regression estimated annual percent change (APC) and average annual percent change (AAPC). Results: AAMR rose annually by 0.45% in the 25–34 year group and 1.03% in the 35–44 year group, but declined significantly among individuals ≥55 years (AAPC −1.43% to −3.20%). Adults ≥75 years accounted for more than half of CRC deaths. The South registered the highest AAMR (21.13 per 100 000), whereas the Northeast had the lowest (17.31 per 100 000). Non-Hispanic Black individuals experienced the highest AAMR (24.90 per 100 000). Non-metropolitan counties showed higher AAMR (23.16 per 100 000) than metropolitan counties (18.69 per 100 000). Conclusion: Despite an overall decline in U.S. CRC mortality, rising risk among young adults and pronounced disparities across regions, racial/ethnic groups, and urban–rural settings persist. Targeted This is a provisional file, not the final typeset article screening and intervention strategies for younger populations, high-burden areas, and vulnerable groups are essential to accelerate equitable reductions in CRC mortality.
Keywords: Cancer mortality, colorectal cancer, diseaseprogression, malignancy, Population Surveillance
Received: 26 Aug 2025; Accepted: 03 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Feng, Fa, Liu and Qi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Jianping Liu
Hong Qi
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