An American study has alerted to the increase in fourteen early-onset cancers in people under 50. What are the risk factors that could be responsible for this increase?
- The incidence of fourteen early-onset cancers has increased worldwide.
- Several treatments can be recommended to treat cancer: surgery, radiotherapy, hormone therapy, immunotherapy or chemotherapy.
On average, 60% of patients affected by cancer are over 65, explains the Cancer Foundation. An American study published in the journal Nature Reviews Clinicat Oncology, however, warned of an increase in cancer cases in people under 50 since 1990.
Early cancers: new generations more at risk
To reach this conclusion, American scientists studied the medical data of people aged 20 to 49 living in 44 different countries. This information was collected from 2000 to 2012. The leaders of the study then noted a global increase in fourteen types of cancer in adults under 50 years of age. This increase concerns cancers of the breast, colorectal, endometrium, esophagus, extrahepatic bile duct, gallbladder, head and neck, kidney, liver, bone marrow, pancreas, prostate, stomach and thyroid.
During their research, the scientists also observed that the risk of developing early-onset cancer increases with each new generation. “People born in 1960 had a higher risk of cancer before they turned 50 than people born in 1950 and we expect this level of risk to continue to increase over generations”can we read in the study.
Processed food, pollution, tobacco… factors favoring cancer
For several years now, cancer screening has been generalized in various countries. This examination makes it possible to detect cancers or abnormalities that could have developed into cancer at an early stage. However, the frequency of screenings is not the only factor that could explain the increase in cancer cases among those under 50 years of age.
In their work, American scientists have particularly pointed to changes in lifestyles. Regular consumption of ultra-processed foods could be one of the risk factors for early-onset cancer. Eight of the fourteen cancers examined by the researchers were related to the digestive system. “The food we eat feeds the microorganisms in our gut. The diet directly affects the composition of the microbiota and these changes can influence the risk of disease (…) The increase in the consumption of highly processed or westernized foods as well as changes in lifestyles, environment, morbidities and other factors could all have contributed to these changes in exposures,” they indicated.
In the future, researchers want to start prospective cohort studies using dedicated biobanking and data collection technologies. In their view, it is more than necessary to raise public awareness of the rising incidence rate of early-onset cancers and to promote a return to healthier lifestyles. These measures would be likely to reduce cases of early onset and late onset cancer.
