Worldwide incidence rate for colorectal cancer increased nearly 10 percent between 1990 and 2017, according to a study published in The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology.
Researchers studied data from 195 countries to compile what they believe are "comprehensive worldwide estimates of the burden, epidemiological features and risk factors of a number of digestive diseases."
What you should know:
1. Age-standardized CRC incidence rates increased 9.5 percent globally, but mortality rates dropped by 13.5 percent.
2. Researchers attributed the declining mortality rate to CRC screening programs. Physicians can catch the cancer in early stages and treat it before it advances to a worse stage.
3. Researchers identified a number of risk factors for males and females. Males who use alcohol, smoke or consume diets low in calcium, milk and fiber increase their CRC risk. Females face several unspecified dietary risks that contribute to their CRC risk.
4. The study also noted a 10 percent increase in worldwide pancreatic cancer rates. Notably, patients who developed pancreatic cancer in 1990 were more likely to survive than patients who have cancer today.
Read the published studies here.