Incidence of 14 cancers increased among individuals under the age of 50 between 2010 and 2019, according to a study published May 8 in Cancer Discovery.
Researchers from the National Institutes of Health analyzed incidence and mortality data from the CDC’s Cancer Statistics database for 33 cancers between 2010 and 2019, in addition to national death certificate data from 2010 to 2022, for the study.
Here are seven notes on their findings:
- Data was organized into six age groups. The three groups categorized as “early-onset” were ages 15-29, 20-39 and 40-49. The three groups categorized as “older-onset” were ages 50-59, 60-69 and 70-79.
- Fourteen of the 33 cancer types analyzed increased in at least one of the early-onset age groups.
The 14 cancer types were: stomach, colorectal, pancreatic, bone and joint, melanoma, female breast, cervical, uterine, testicular, kidney, precursor B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, mycosis fungoides and Sézary syndrome, and plasma cell neoplasms.
Of those 14 cancer types, incidence rates for nine cancers also increased in at least one of the older-onset age groups. Those nine were: female breast, colorectal, kidney, testicular, uterine, pancreatic and three types of lymphoma. - Incidence rates for the other 19 cancer types decreased among individuals younger than 50.
Overall, the total incidence rate of all cancers diagnosed in both the early-onset and older-onset age groups did not increase. - Incidence of melanoma, cervical cancer, stomach cancer, myeloma and cancers of the bones and joints increased among one of the younger age groups without increasing in any of the older age groups.
- The researchers calculated expected early-onset incidence rates for 2019 based on incidence rates 2010 to find how many additional individuals had been diagnosed with cancer in 2019.
About 4,800 additional people were diagnosed with female breast cancer in 2019, followed by 2,100 people diagnosed with colorectal cancer, 1,800 with kidney cancer, 1,200 with uterine cancer and 500 with pancreatic cancer.
“Female breast, colorectal, kidney and uterine cancers contributed to more than 80% of the additional early onset cancers in 2019,” the release said. - While mortality rates did not increase among the early-onset age groups for the majority of cancer types, researchers did find “concerning increases” in mortality from colorectal and uterine cancers at younger ages, according to a May 8 news news release from the National Cancer Institute.
The overall mortality rate from all cancers diagnosed during the study period, in both the early-onset and older-onset age groups, did not increase.
- The study authors speculate the increasing obesity rates may have contributed to the increase in early-onset diagnoses, as well as advances in screening guidelines and technologies.
Read the full study here.
