Objective To explore the mortality trend of colorectal cancer in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province, 1981-2014.

Methods Colorectal cancer mortality was derived from vital registration system. Annual percentage changes (APC) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to examine the temporal trend of colorectal cancer crude rates and age standardized rate (ASR) according to sex. The Chinese population in 2000 was used for age-standardized rates. The risk of dying of colorectal cancer before 75 years old was calculated and presented as cumulative mortality.

Results Colorectal cancer death cases were significantly increased from 1981 to 2014 in Kunshan(APC=1.4%, 95%CI: 1.0%-1.8%); cumulative mortality of 0-74 years old was declined significantly from 1.96% in 1981 to 0.74% in 2014 (APC=-2.7%, 95%CI: -3.3%--2.1%). Whereas, the age standardized mortality of colorectal cancer in both gender was decreased significantly from 16.87 per 100,000 person years in 1981 to 6.50 per 100,000 person years (APC=-2.4%, 95%CI: -2.9%--1.9%), meanwhile, in male (APC=-2.2%, 95%CI: -2.8%--1.6%) and female (APC=-2.7%, 95%CI: -3.4%--2.0%).

Conclusion Colorectal cancer mortality has declined in Kunshan over the past 30 years, but the increasing number of colorectal cancer death cases is still a major threat to the health burden.