The detection of lung and colon cancer is a critical challenge in medical diagnosis, and machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) techniques are increasingly being used to enhance accuracy and efficiency. This review focuses on the integration of ML and DL methods for the combined detection of lung and colon cancer, emphasizing their strengths, limitations, and future potential. The motivation behind this study is to address the growing demand for accurate and early detection of these cancers, which significantly impacts treatment outcomes. Current methods often struggle with feature complexity, image variability, and computational intensity, which limit their real-world applicability. The aim is to consolidate various ML and DL techniques that have been employed for this purpose, highlighting how hybrid models can improve detection rates. The objective of this review is to provide a comprehensive analysis of different methodologies, their datasets, pre-processing techniques, feature extraction methods, and evaluation parameters. This review also explores recent advancements, such as transfer learning combined with fine-tuning techniques, which can further optimize performance in cancer detection. The findings suggest that while current methods show promise, further improvements in model generalization, interpretability, and computational efficiency are required to overcome existing limitations and expand clinical use.