HQ Team
August 2, 2024:Cancer risk is higher among the younger generation than the older ones, according to a new study.
Millennials and Gen Xers are more likely to develop 17 forms of cancer than older generations due to exposure to carcinogens, sedentary lifestyles, consumption of ultra-processed foods, pollution and such than in the past, says a study conducted by the American Cancer Society (ACS) and the University of Calgary in Canada, published in the journal Lancet Public Health.
The researchers analysed data for 34 types of cancer among nearly 24 million people, and death data for 25 types of cancer for more than 7 million people, born between 1920 and 1990.
Cancer incidence
They found that the 1990 birth cohort had much higher cancer rates than earlier generations, ranging from a 12 per cent higher incidence of ovarian cancer to a 169 per cent higher incidence of endometrial cancer compared with the groups with the lowest rates.
The 1990 group also saw incidence rates that were two to three times higher than the 1955 cohort for cancers of the small intestine, thyroid, kidney and renal pelvis, and pancreas.
The silver lining here was that death rates either fell or stabilised for most types of cancer among the younger generations. But younger people were more likely to die from endometrial cancer, liver and intrahepatic bile duct cancer in women, as well as gallbladder and other biliary, testicular, and colorectal cancers compared with baby boomers.
A senior author of the study said that the cancer rate is unlikely to fall any time soon. The US cancer burden will continue to grow, “halting or reversing decades of progress against the disease,” said Ahmedin Jemal, author of the study and senior vice president of the ACS’s surveillance and health equity science team.
Types of cancer
Previous research has shown that the younger generation is more susceptible to certain cancers. This new study has added eight new cancers to the list: cardia gastric cancer, small intestine cancer, oestrogen receptor-positive breast cancer, ovarian cancer, liver cancer in women, non-HPV-associated oral and pharynx cancer in women, anal cancer in men, and Kaposi sarcoma cancer in men.
In the new study, breast, gallbladder and other biliary cancers, and uterine cancer rates increased across almost all age groups, rising faster among younger generations. While breast cancer rates among women younger than 40 remain low, in a separate study, breast cancer still accounted for the highest number of early-onset cancer cases.
A drop in cervical cancer rates among younger women was noted, which was attributed to vaccination against the human papillomavirus (HPV)
Reasons
Scientists believe the reasons for the higher incidence of cancer are likely due to exposure to environmental toxins, obesity, sedentary lifestyles, unhealthy diets high and ultra-processed foods, and poor sleep habits.
People born in the same generation “share unique social, economic, political, and climate environments, which affect their exposure to cancer risk factors during their crucial developmental years,” Hyuna Sung, the study’s lead author and a senior principal scientist of surveillance and health equity science at the ACS, said in a statement.
The study was conducted in the US but the results can be applied elsewhere too as most countries are grappling with environmental pollution, sedentary lifestyles, and consumption of ultra-processed foods. A projection from the Global Cancer Observatory suggests that new cancer cases worldwide are set to surge by a staggering 77% by 2050. Factors such as tobacco use, alcohol consumption, obesity, and air pollution are driving the alarming increase, alongside significant disparities in cancer care between high and low-income countries.
“The data highlights the critical need to identify and address underlying risk factors in Gen X and Millennial populations to inform prevention strategies,” Jemal said.
About 20 million people were diagnosed with cancer in 2022, and 9.7 million people died, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates.
A projection from the Global Cancer Observatory suggests that new cancer cases worldwide are set to surge by a staggering 77% by 2050. Factors such as tobacco use, alcohol consumption, obesity, and air pollution are driving the alarming increase, alongside significant disparities in cancer care between high and low-income countries.
