She said: “I think it’s really important for providers and general practitioners to be mindful of this increase [in appendix cancer cases], particularly in younger patients, and when they see a young patient presenting with these symptoms, work to rule it out.

“Knowledge and education of this rare disease is a challenge overall.”

Why is it on the rise?

According to the 2025 study, we are only at the ‘tip of the iceberg’ of understanding what is driving the growth in this once rare cancer.

Holowatyj explained: “We estimate about 3,000 new cases of appendix cancer are diagnosed every year.”

She said this is in contrast to breast cancer numbers, which the National Cancer Institute estimated to be of around 320,000 new cases just this year.

Additionally, she said it’s important to know what’s driving the rise.

“We’re just at the tip of the iceberg for this disease,” she explained.

“We’re working to begin to unpack [the risk factors] because these rising trends will be important to understanding what’s driving the increase in this disease.”

The doctors share that there is no official reason as to why it’s increasing within the two generations, but it could be down to ultra-processed foods, similar to the rise in colon and rectal cancer cases.