Appendix cancers on the rise in younger generations, study finds

Although they are very rare, cancers of the appendix are on the rise, a new study finds

Although they are very rare, cancers of the appendix are on the rise, a new study finds.

An analysis of a National Cancer Institute database found that compared with older generations, rates of appendix cancer have tripled among Gen X and quadrupled among millennials, according to the report, published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

“There is a disproportionate burden of appendix cancer among young individuals,” said the study’s lead author, Andreana Holowatyj, an assistant professor of hematology and oncology at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center.

Holowatyj’s earlier research was “the first to show that 1 in every 3 appendix cancers is diagnosed among adults younger than age 50,” she said in a phone interview. “That’s compared to 1 in every 8 colorectal cancers diagnosed among adults younger than age 50.”

Still, appendix cancers are extremely rare: According to the National Cancer Institute, they occur at a rate of 1 to 2 per million people in the United States a year.