Cancer cases are increasing in people under 50 years of age, but the reason unknown – Dainik Savera Times

Belfast: Cancer is often considered a disease that mostly affects older people. But new research shows that the increasing cases of cancer among youth has become a problem, which is worrying. The study found that the number of people under the age of 50 suffering from cancer has increased by nearly 80 percent globally over the past three decades. It is also a matter of concern that many types of cancer are emerging among the youth. This latest study, combined with previous research, shows that younger people are increasingly suffering from types of cancer that were thought to be confined to older age groups. These include intestinal cancer, stomach cancer, breast cancer, uterine cancer and pancreatic cancer.

This is worrying because some of these cancers – particularly pancreatic and stomach cancers – have low survival rates due to the fact that such cancers are often detected late. Research has also shown that bowel cancer is detected at a later stage in young people compared to older people. While this latest study makes it clear that cancer is becoming more common among those under the age of 50, experts are still not entirely sure what is causing this increase.

cancer at a young age

The study examined the incidence of cancer, known as “early-onset cancer”, in people under the age of 50 in 204 countries and territories. The data for the analysis was collected between 1990 and 2019. The researchers were interested not only in knowing the incidence of early cancer, but they also wanted to know which types of cancer had the highest burden at the earliest age of onset, under 50 years of age. They found that there were 3.26 million cases of early-onset cancer worldwide in 2019, a 79 percent increase since 1990. Researchers also predicted that the number of people under the age of 50 suffering from cancer will increase by another 31 percent by 2030. Breast cancer was the most common early cancer in 2019, but the incidence of prostate and throat cancer increased at the fastest rates since 1990. Liver cancer has declined most rapidly during this period.

Cancer has unknown causes

There is no clear reason why cancer is increasing in people under the age of 50. Some cancers in young people occur as a result of genetic conditions, but these account for only a small number of cases (about 20 percent). Lifestyle factors such as the food we eat, whether we drink alcohol or smoke and being overweight are all associated with an increased risk of many types of cancer. Research indicates that factors may contribute to the increase in early-onset colorectal cancer, for example. But whether these factors hold true for other types of early cancer is unknown. Some people affected by early-stage cancer can lead healthy lifestyles. This suggests that possibly? There are other reasons for the increase which are not yet known. It is clear from this research that the cancer landscape is changing. Although the incidence of cancer at an earlier age is increasing, cancer is still much less common in this age group than in those over 50 years of age.