Researchers find cancer is striking people at an earlier age
of ConsumerAffairs
Cancer often shows up late in life but doctors are seeing a troubling trend. An increasing number of millennials and Gex Xers are being diagnosed with several forms of cancer.
Researchers at the American Cancer Society (ACS) led the study, which suggest cancer rates are rising successively in younger generations in 17 of the 34 cancer types. Those cancers include breast, pancreatic and gastric cancers.
The research also found that death rates from these cancers also increased in conjunction with the incidence of liver, uterine corpus, gallbladder, testicular and colorectal cancers. The study was published in the journal The Lancet Public Health.
These findings add to growing evidence of increased cancer risk in post-baby boomer generations, expanding on previous findings of early-onset colorectal cancer and a few obesity-associated cancers to encompass a broader range of cancer types, said Dr. Hyuna Sung, lead author of the study and a senior principal scientist of surveillance and health equity science at the American Cancer Society.
We dont yet know why
Birth cohorts, groups of people classified by their birth year, share unique social, economic, political, and climate environments, which affect their exposure to cancer risk factors during their crucial developmental years. Although we have identified cancer trends associated with birth years, we dont yet have a clear explanation for why these rates are rising.
It was a large study. Researchers analyzed incidence data from 23,654,000 patients diagnosed with 34 types of cancer, along with mortality data from 7,348,137 deaths for 25 types of cancer for individuals aged 2584 years for the period Jan 1, 2000, to Dec 31, 2019.
To compare cancer rates across generations, researchers calculated birth generational incidence rate ratios and mortality rate ratios, adjusted for age effect and period effect, by birth years, separated by five-year intervals, from 1920 to 1990.
Death rates are rising
Cases of cancer were two to three times higher in people born in 1990 than people born in 1955, specifically for pancreatic, kidney and small intestinal cancers.
Even more troubling, death rates increased in successively younger birth cohorts alongside incidence rates for liver cancer (female only), uterine corpus, gallbladder, testicular, and colorectal cancers.
The research may spur changes in current screening recommendations, with some screenings recommended at earlier ages. It also makes clear the importance of regular health care.
"The increasing cancer burden among younger generations underscores the importance of ensuring people of all ages have access to affordable, comprehensive health insurance, a key factor in cancer outcomes," said Lisa Lacasse, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.
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Posted: 2024-08-02 11:18:24
