Overview

• A study published June 9 in the Annals of Internal Medicine analyzes 4,858 cases from 1975 to 2019 and finds appendix cancer rates quadrupled among millennials compared to those born in 1945.
• Nearly one in three appendix cancer diagnoses now occur in adults under 50, reversing the disease’s historic pattern of affecting older patients.
• More than 95% of appendix tumors are only identified after appendectomies for suspected appendicitis because they evade detection on standard scans and colonoscopies.
• Researchers attribute the surge to obesity, metabolic syndrome and environmental exposures and call for expanded molecular and epidemiological studies.
• Clinicians are urged to monitor persistent symptoms in younger patients—such as bloating, changes in bowel habits and loss of appetite—to promote earlier diagnosis.