Cancer-related deaths among U.S. adults under age 50 have decreased for every leading malignancy except colorectal cancer, which is now the most common cause of cancer death, up from the fifth place in the early 1990s, according to a new data analysis.

Colorectal cancer achieved its first-place position sooner than expected, researchers from the American Cancer Society said, noting that it had ‍originally been predicted to become the lead cause of cancer deaths in the under-50 age group by 2040.

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From ‍1990 through 2023 – the latest year for which data is available – nearly 1.3 million people died of cancer in the U.S. before age 50, the analysis reported in JAMA found.

During that period, and ⁠after accounting for age, the cancer death rate decreased by 44%, from 25.5 per 100,000 adults to 14.2.

On average, death rates from 2014 through 2023 declined by 0.3% per year for brain cancer, 1.4% for breast cancer, 2.3% for leukemia, and 5.7% ​for lung cancer.

Bucking the trend, colorectal cancer mortality rose by 1.1% annually from 2005 through 2023.

“These findings are consistent with reports of increased colorectal mortality among adults younger than 50 years overall and in most racial and ethnic groups,” researchers said.

Given that most colorectal cancer patients diagnosed before age 50 already ‍have advanced disease, researchers advised education about unique red-flag symptoms, including bright red blood in stool and abdominal pain. They also called for screening ⁠beginning at age 45.