New Delhi: Regarding cancers, we thought age was a big factor, as 75 percent were in the age group 55 years and above. As the number of years increased on your timeline so did the number of cancers. However, now things seem to be changing. Experts say the 'cancer demographic' in certain forms of cancers like endocrine cancers might have shifted towards the younger generation.
The focus on cancer among people in their 40s and early 50s generated more interest after Britain's future queen and Princess of Wales Kate Middleton received a diagnosis at the age of 42 and many celebrities like actress Olivia Munn who announced she had undergone a double mastectomy. There have been many early cancer deaths in Hollywood and closer home in Bollywood as well- one of Bollywood's greatest actors Irfan Khan and Marvel superhero Chadwick Boseman to name a few.
In October 2022, Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital revealed that the incidence of early onset cancers — including breast, colon, esophagus, kidney, liver, and pancreas — has dramatically increased around the world, with the rise beginning around 1990. Results published in Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology were based on extensive analysis of available data to understand why more people under 50 are getting cancers.
Researchers observed something called the birth cohort effect. This effect shows that each successive group of people born later has a
higher risk. The researchers found that this risk is increasing with each generation. For instance, people born in 1960 experienced higher cancer risk before they turned 50 than people born in 1950. Data showed that at least 14 cancer types showed increased incidence in adults before age 50.
The team also found that the early life “exposome,” which is a change in a person's diet, lifestyle, weight, environmental exposures, and microbiome, has led to this increase.
"It's a fact that there is a demographic shift toward younger people. This is more true for certain cancers like endocrine cancers which include breast cancer or thyroid cancer. These cancers are seen more or more in younger people in their 40s and 50s,'' said one of the leading oncologists in India, Dr Sameer Kaul.
Dr Kaul said the reasons are internal factors like genes and changes in the external environment, like the food we take, the pollution in the environment, and our changing lifestyle. The team also acknowledged that this increased incidence of certain cancer types is, in part, due to early detection through cancer screening programs.
"We appreciate a person's genetic risk more at a younger age. We generally now take cognizance of hereditary factors at the age of 50, hence we are picking up cancers very early,'' Dr Kaul added. However, scientists are not just attributing the numbers to better screening but other factors like alcohol consumption, sleep deprivation, smoking, obesity, diabetes, and lack of physical activity as well.
Statistics from around the world are now suggesting a further increase among adults under the age of 50. According to various models based on global data, the number of early-onset cancer cases will increase by around 30% between 2019 and 2030. In an article in the leading science magazine Nature published earlier this month, experts wrote that cancers like colorectal cancer — which typically strikes men in their mid-60s or older — have become the leading cause of cancer death among men under 50 in the United States. In young women, it has become the second leading cause of cancer death.
While the incidence of this cancer in people under 50 years increased, particularly among women, so did the survival rate. "When diagnosed early, there is a better chance of survival,'' Dr Kaul said.
"In the United States, where data on cancer incidence is particularly rigorous, uterine cancer has increased by 2% each year since the mid- 1990s among adults younger than 502. Early-onset breast cancer increased by 3.8% per year between 2016 and 2019,'' the article in Nature said.
"The rate of cancer among young adults in the United States has increased faster in women than in men, and in Hispanic people faster than in non-Hispanic white people,'' the author added. The researchers are also investigating if the change in microorganisms living in human bodies, called microbiomes, is also a possible cause.
"Disruptions in microbiome composition, such as those caused by dietary changes or antibiotics, have been linked to inflammation and increased risk of several diseases, including some forms of cancer,'' said Nature. This however needs more research. While it's a fact that cancers are increasing, there is no one common cause for the increase, but a bunch of factors are responsible. Like all other diseases, it boils down to having a healthy lifestyle, eating right, and getting enough sleep for the body to rest.
Cancer prevention is possible.
Blurb 1-Some stats
An estimated 19.3 million cases and nearly 10 million deaths due to cancer in 2022.
Cancer is now the second leading cause of death worldwide.
The global burden of cancer is projected to grow with incidence and mortality rates set to rise by 40% by 2040.
Blurb 2
According to the Union for International Cancer Control half of the world's cancers are preventable. Primary cancer prevention measures include interventions that block the initiation of cancer by altering exposure to risk factors, such as tobacco smoke, alcohol, occupational carcinogens, radiation, overweight and obesity, and other factors that are modifiable by changes in behaviour or policy.
Secondary cancer prevention measures relate to detecting cancer early and stopping it from getting worse. It includes screening tests that can identify and treat cancer early in its development. While effective tests for population screening are in place for only a few cancers (breast, cervix, lung, and colorectal cancer), primary and secondary (early detection) strategies can reduce the cancer burden by one-third to a half and are therefore cost-effective and core components of a national cancer control strategy.
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