In 2022, 12,000 people in the Netherlands were diagnosed with colorectal or rectal cancer, almost 1,000 less than in 2021. Since the introduction of the population screening, colorectal cancer is more often diagnosed at a lower stage.
Since the introduction of the bowel cancer screening program in 2014, a declining trend can be seen in the number of diagnoses. In 2021 there were temporarily more diagnoses of bowel cancer than in 2020, because a backlog resulting from the shutdown of the population screening during the corona crisis was made up. In 2022, the number of bowel cancer diagnoses will decrease again, as was the case before the corona crisis.
Most bowel cancer diagnoses are made in the age group 55-75 years (56%). 10% of people who received a colon cancer diagnosis were 55 years or younger. Men (54%) are diagnosed slightly more often than women (46%).
In 2013, 18% of all colorectal cancer diagnoses were stage I tumors, in 2021 this will be 31%. The proportion of stage IV tumors decreased, from 26% in 2013 to 19% in 2021. The five-year survival rate of stage I tumors is about 95%; of stage IV tumors between 12 and 14%.
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