U.S. Cancer Statistics Colorectal Cancer Stat Bite

In the United States in 2019—

• 142,462 new colorectal cancers were reported.
• 51,896 people died from colorectal cancer.

Males had higher rates of getting and dying from colorectal cancer than females.

Stage Distribution

From 2015 to 2019, about 1 in 3 colorectal cancer cases were diagnosed at a localized stage, meaning the cancer had not spread outside the colon or rectum. About 1 in 3 colorectal cancers were found at a regional stage (the cancer had spread to nearby lymph nodes, tissues, or organs), and about 1 in 4 were found at a distant stage (the cancer had spread to distant parts of the body).

5-Year Relative Survival

64% of colorectal cancer patients who were diagnosed from 2012 to 2018 had not died from their cancer 5 years later.

Survival is higher when colorectal cancer is found before it spreads to other parts of the body. Screening tests can prevent colorectal cancer or find it early, when treatment works best.

Data Sources

Data are from U.S. Cancer Statistics, the official federal cancer statistics.

U.S. Cancer Statistics incidence data are from population-based registries that participate in CDC’s National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR), the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program, or both programs and met high-quality data criteria for the 2021 data submission, covering 99% of the U.S. population.

U.S. Cancer Statistics death data are from CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics National Vital Statistics System and cover 100% of the U.S. population.

U.S. Cancer Statistics survival and prevalence data are from 42 NPCR registries that met high-quality data criteria for the 2021 data submission and linked to the National Death Index, conducted active patient follow-up, or performed both of these activities. The resulting data cover 88% of the U.S. population. Five-year relative survival estimates are based on cases diagnosed from 2012 to 2018. Five-year limited-duration prevalence estimates are based on cases diagnosed from 2014 to 2018.