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Top 5 Most-Read CRC Content in 2025
From cutting-edge AI detection tools to rising incidence in younger adults and threats to free screenings, 2025 brought major shifts in the struggle against colorectal cancer.
Breakthrough tools, shifting risk patterns, and uncertainty around policy and access have combined to refocus attention on colorectal cancer (CRC) in 2025. The most-read AJMC.com articles of the year chronicle not only advances in detection and understanding, but also the social, environmental, and systemic forces shaping who gets screened and who doesn’t.
Here are the top 5 most-read CRC articles in 2025.
From cutting-edge AI detection tools to rising incidence in younger adults and threats to free screenings, 2025 brought major shifts in the struggle against colorectal cancer. | Image credit: Africa Studio - stock.adobe.com
5. Supreme Court Case Could Threaten Free Colorectal Cancer Screenings
A legal challenge before the US Supreme Court sparked concern from the American College of Gastroenterology that millions of Americans may lose access to no-cost colorectal cancer screenings if the court undercuts the screening recommendations issued by the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). The risk was substantial, in that screening—long credited with dramatic reductions in CRC mortality through colonoscopy and polyp removal—would once again carry out-of-pocket costs under many insurance plans, potentially deterring patients from testing. As CRC incidence climbs, especially among younger adults, the potential rollback of coverage threatens to reverse decades of public health progress.
4. Biological Aging Linked to Colorectal Cancer Risk Regardless of Gender
Emerging research suggests that biological age, a measure of how the body is functioning, not simply how many years someone has lived, may offer a more accurate gauge of colorectal cancer risk. A study using established biomarkers found that individuals whose biological age significantly exceeds their chronological age had higher CRC prevalence, even after accounting for gender. This raises new possibilities, in which clinicians might one day use biological-aging metrics to identify high-risk individuals who might otherwise be missed by traditional age-based screening guidelines.
3. On World Cancer Day—Voices of Patients Highlight the Human Side of Colorectal Cancer
On this year’s World Cancer Day, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network's ‘United by Unique’ campaign emphasized that every cancer journey is deeply personal. Among the featured stories was that of a CRC survivor diagnosed in her early 40s, which is too young, under prior screening norms, to trigger routine colonoscopy. Her story, like many others, underscores how rising CRC rates among younger adults can catch patients unprepared and vulnerable. The narrative acts as a reminder that behind statistics are real lives and that timely screening, advocacy, and patient-centered care remain critical.
2. 5 Reasons Why Colorectal Cancer May Be Rising in Young Adults
Lifestyle, environment, and shifting societal patterns are contributing to a troubling increase in early-onset colorectal cancer, according to this analysis. Key factors include poor dietary habits, especially consumption of ultra-processed foods, increasing rates of obesity and sedentary behavior, disruptions in gut microbiome balance, delays in screening and diagnosis among younger people, and cumulative environmental or epigenetic influences. Given that CRC diagnoses among adults under 50 have been climbing for over a decade, the article argues that a reevaluation of screening strategies and greater awareness are overdue.
1. Unlocking Early Colorectal Cancer Detection With Artificial Intelligence
Topping the list this year was this article on an artificial intelligence (AI)-based tool called "C the Signs," which demonstrated the ability to flag individuals at high risk for CRC up to 5 years before traditional clinicians might suspect it. In a large retrospective analysis of nearly 900,000 patient records, the model achieved a sensitivity of 93.8% in identifying CRC risk, offering a novel avenue for early detection in primary care settings, especially for patients without obvious risk factors or who fall outside standard screening age brackets.
