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Rates of 17 types of cancer are rising alarmingly among young adults. A recent report from the American Cancer Society reveals that Gen Xers and Millennials are at higher risk of cancer than ever before. What are the causes, and how can we respond to this major health threat?
A new large-scale study by researchers at the American Cancer Society (ACS) suggests that incidence rates continue to increase in younger generations for 17 of 34 cancer types, including breast, pancreatic and stomach cancers. Mortality trends have also increased in conjunction with the incidence of liver (in women only), corpus uteri, gallbladder, testicular and colorectal cancers. The report will be published today in the journal The Lancet Public Health.
A boom of 17 cancers, including those usually associated with the elderly
To conduct their study, the researchers obtained incidence data for 34 types of cancer from more than 23 million Americans and mortality data for more than 7 million for two types of cancer over a period of nearly 20 years (between January 1, 2000, and December 31). Analyzing these data by generation, the researchers found that incidence rates increased with each successive birth cohort born since about 1920 for eight of the 34 cancers.
In particular, the incidence rate was approximately two to three times higher in the 1990 birth cohort than in the 1955 birth cohort for pancreatic, renal, and small bowel cancers in both men and women; and for liver cancer in women.
In addition, incidence rates increased in younger cohorts, after declining in older birth cohorts, for 9 of the remaining cancers, including breast cancer (estrogen receptor positive only), uterine corpus cancer, colorectal cancer, noncardiac gastric cancer, gallbladder cancer, ovarian cancer, testicular cancer, anal cancer in men, and Kaposi sarcoma in men.
Finally, mortality rates have increased in increasingly younger birth cohorts, in parallel with incidence rates of liver cancer (women only), corpus uteri, gallbladder, testicular, and colorectal cancer.
Risk factors to be clarified
“These findings add to growing evidence of increased cancer risk in post-baby boomer generations, expanding previous findings on early-onset colorectal cancer and some obesity-associated cancers to encompass a broader range of cancer types.“, said Dr. Hyuna Sung, lead author of the study. The researchers admit, however, that beyond this trend, they do not yet have a clear explanation for why these rates are increasing.
“These data highlight the critical need to identify and address underlying risk factors in Generation X and Millennial populations to inform prevention strategies.” adds Dr Ahmedin Jemal, author of the study.
The importance of early detection and prevention
The increasing burden of cancer for younger generations makes it urgent to identify the risk factors behind this trend, but also to implement public health policies to more effectively combat those already well identified (fight against smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, obesity, pollution, ultra-processed foods, vaccination against infectious agents that cause cancer, etc.). Finally, improving screening (including for lung cancer) and access to optimal treatments are also key elements in addition to prevention.