Cancer Mystery: Why Are More Young Adults Being Diagnosed With Late-Stage Tumors?

It was the shocking revelation heard around the world when, on March 22, the Princess of Wales Catherine Middleton informed the public that she had cancer. She is only 42 years-old. Her diagnosis reflects the rapidly accelerating number of cancer cases among adults younger than 50.

What are the instigators of the increasingly alarming global surge of advanced, aggressive cancers in younger people? Is there anything you can do to protect yourself? These are good questions but without definitive answers.

Data from the United Kingdom show that since the early 1990s, cancer in people younger than 50 has risen by 22 percent. In the United States, cancer in people younger than 40 has risen by a shocking 35 percent from 1975 to 2019. This phenomenon is so frequent that it has been given its own diagnostic category: early-onset cancers. Some physicians are calling it an epidemic.

A recent study in the British Medical Journal describes 29 types of cancer, which, in people younger than 50, are increasing at an accelerating pace. The steepest growth is seen in higher-income countries, including the U.S. and Western European nations.

There has been a dramatic increase in cancer screening in younger adults, decreasing cancer deaths, but it does not explain the rise in cancer cases. More advanced tumors and more aggressive tumors are found in these younger adults compared to those 50 years and older.

Screening would yield earlier-stage cancers. These are young, healthy, active people, however, who eat well and have no genetic predisposition to cancer. This includes Chadwick Boseman, an actor best known for the movie “Black Panther.” At age 39, he was diagnosed with Stage III colon cancer. He continued to perform until he died at age 43.

Scientists speculate that the earlier-in-life cancers are attributable, at least in part, to unhealthy habits. Poor diet, low physical activity, and insufficient sleep, however, can’t explain cancers in healthy young adults.

Cancers Of The Digestive System A Growing Concern For Younger Adults

Cancers of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract are especially prevalent and aggressive. A recent study in Nature identified 14 cancers detected with increasing frequency in young adults; eight are related to the GI tract. These include the colon, rectum, esophagus, stomach, bile duct, gallbladder, liver, and pancreas. Colorectal cancers spiked first.

A recent study in JAMA reports that colorectal cancer is the most common cancer in people younger than 50. Twenty percent of colorectal cancers occur in people younger than age 55. The American Cancer Society reports that in the early 1990s, it was 10 percent.

A cancer diagnosis in your 30s and 40s has unique stage-of-life challenges. These patients may have young families, care for elderly parents, have careers with considerable time demands, and have less money for medical bills. Yale and the Cleveland Clinic have programs designed just for services to these young adults.