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.