A new study from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has found that the incidence of 14 different cancer types increased among people under the age of 50.
Newsweek spoke with leading oncologists about new findings published in Cancer Discovery, which revealed that between 2010 and 2019, more than two million cancer cases were diagnosed in people aged 15 to 49 in the United States.
Several cancers are becoming more common in young adults, including testicular cancer, melanoma, and cervical cancer. Blood-related cancers like B-cell lymphomas and plasma cell neoplasms are also on the rise, along with rare types such as bone and joint cancers, stomach cancer and skin lymphomas.
Dr. Steven Grossman, a clinician and researcher with expertise in gastrointestinal cancers, told Newsweek: “What is most concerning about the rise of cancers typical of older adults in younger populations is that the symptoms might be ignored until the cancer presents at a later stage, where it is more difficult to treat and cure.
“This is especially worrisome for colorectal cancer and pancreatic cancer, which are particularly difficult to treat if they are discovered at a more advanced stage.”
Cancers Typically Linked to Older Adults
The study, released on May 8, found the most significant upticks were observed in cancers such as female breast, colorectal, kidney, uterine, and pancreatic—many of which are commonly associated with older adults but are now appearing more frequently in patients in their 20s, 30s and 40s.
While the overall cancer death rate in younger adults has not risen in tandem, troubling increases in colorectal and uterine cancer deaths have been reported. Some cancers like melanoma, cervical, stomach, myeloma, and bone and joint cancers showed increases only in younger populations.
“We don’t know yet the root cause of the increasing incidence of cancer in younger adults but science points to what we would call environmental factors,” said Grossman, the executive medical director of the Hoag Family Cancer Institute in Southern California.