Cancer Diagnoses Among Younger Generations Are Rising
- A new report has found that younger women across the U.S. are twice as likely to be diagnosed with cancer than men in their age group— and the increased risk in cancer rates can be largely linked to obesity prevalence and less women having children.
- Experts say the uptick in cancer diagnoses among younger generations can be linked to women having children later, more and more people being obese, and an increase in alcohol consumption across the U.S.
- The new report, published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, also revealed that death rates have dropped a whopping 35% in 30 years.
- Making all of your doctor’s appointments for major health screenings is a good way to make sure your health is covered from all angles, whether it’s a mammogram, Pap smear, colonoscopy, screening for prostate cancer, lung cancer scan, or a skin check at the dermatologist.
For women, like “Anne With An E” actress and breast cancer survivor Miranda McKeon, 22, and “Love Island” star and thyroid cancer survivor Demi Jones, 26—reasons for being diagnosed with cancer may have something to do with less or late childbearing, sedentary lifestyle, obesity, and alcohol consumption, however it’s not possible to pinpoint exactly what has increased cancer incidence.
Read MoreThe 2025 statistics publication also notes that woman younger than 50 now have an 82% higher chance of cancer incidence, a number which is significantly higher than 2002, when statistics showed younger women to have a 51% higher chance of getting cancer than in men.
Expert Resources On Cancer Screenings
- 87% of Eligible People Skipped Lung Cancer Screening, Analysis Finds; Knowing the Importance of Lung Cancer Screenings
- ‘Get Your Pap Tests, Ladies!’ — Actor Marcia Cross Advocates for Screening During Cervical Cancer Awareness Month
- Black Americans Need to Prioritize Cancer Screenings, Says Leading Radiation Oncologist
- All Americans Should Begin Colorectal Cancer Screening at Age 45, According to New Guidelines; Previous Age Was 50
- Breast and Cervical Cancer Screenings Dropped 87% and 84% Respectively During the Height of the Pandemic; Why It’s Imperative To Get Back on Track
- Could A Urine Test Be The Future of Prostate Cancer Screening? Leading Experts Weigh In
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- Baby Aspirin For Colorectal Cancer Prevention Is Still OK, Just Check With Your Doctor First And Keep Up-To-Date On Your Screenings
Overall, the heightened cancer incident rate among women between the ages of 0 to 49, when compared to men, is chiefly due to breast cancer, as per the ACS report.
In the case of men younger than 50, their cancer incident rates were found to be relatively the same between 1998 and 2021.
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As for cancer survival stats, the report’s authors, who obtained their date through the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Cancer Institute, the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries, concluded that the 5-year relative survival rate for all cancers combined has risen to 69% between 2014 and 2020, compared to 49% during the mid-1970s.
The authors explain further, “Earlier diagnosis through screening and incidental detection through imaging has contributed to gains in survival for some cancers,” for example, in breast, prostate, thyroid, and kidney cancers.
This is due to “increasing the likelihood of successful treatment and through lead-time bias and the detection of indolent cancers.”
And although those diagnosed with liver cancer are seen to be surviving longer, it’s still among disease with the least favorable prognoses—lung, esophagus, and pancreas cancers.
As for men, the following cancers account for 48% of all incident cases: prostate cancer, lung and bronchus (hereinafter lung) cancer, and colon/rectum. Thirty percent of the prostate cancer cases account of 30 percent of new diagnoses in men.
For women, the following cancers account for 51% of all new diagnoses: breast cancer, lung cancer, and and colon/rectum. Breast cancer, however, accounting for 32% of all new cases.
Speaking to CNN about the reporter, Dr. Mariana Chavez-MacGregor, a professor at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, “In my professional opinion, this phenomenon is multifactorial. We cannot point at one specific factor, but it’s possible that changes in fertility patterns play a role.
“Obesity and alcohol consumption are likely contributing factors, as is a potential lack of physical activity. Other unknown variables may also be at play.”
Meanwhile, incidence rates of thyroid cancer, a disease Demi Jones was diagnosed after first finding a lump on her neck in 2019, have lessened since 2014 by 2% each year, due to clinical practice changes and better recommendations for thyroid cancer screenings.
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It’s also important to note that racial disparities in cancer rates and mortality still exist.
“Native American people bear the highest cancer mortality, including rates that are two to three times those in White people for kidney, liver, stomach, and cervical cancers,” the report states.
“Similarly, Black people have two-fold higher mortality than White people for prostate, stomach, and uterine corpus cancers.”
When it comes to cervical cancer incidence rates, the number has been cut in half since the mid-1970s due to an increase in vaccinations, screenings, and “treatment of precursor lesions.”
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Is The Rise In Cancer Among Younger Generations Reversible?
“Research is needed at every level of cancer science: basic, translational, clinical, population, and implementation science, in order to effect behavioral and policy changes that might mitigate the complex and converging risk factors that are driving this disturbing trend,” Dr. Steve Patierno, a Professor of Medicine at Duke University School of Medicine, told SurvivorNet in an earlier interview.
“The steady rise in young-onset cancer among multiple tumor types is highly concerning and will significantly impact people and society in significant ways if not reversed,” Dr. Kimmie Ng, Associate Chief, Division of Gastrointestinal Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, also told SurvivorNet.
“Research into the underlying cause of this rising trend is of utmost importance for prevention, early detection, and treatment.”
WATCH: Screening for breast cancer.
Screenings and early detection, researchers note, are contributing factors to the increase in cancer rates among younger people. In recent years, the United States Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended that the colorectal cancer screening age be lowered to 45; the previous recommended age was 50.
The USPSTF also lowered the recommended age to begin breast cancer screening to 40. The previous guidance issued in 2016 was age 50.
The American Cancer Society (ACS) suggests women should begin annual mammogram screenings for breast cancer at age 45 if they are at average risk for breast cancer.
The ACS also advises:
- Women aged 40-44 have the option to start screening with a mammogram every year
- Women aged 55 and older can switch to a mammogram every other year
- Women aged 55 and older could also choose to continue yearly mammograms
Although research suggests more young people are screening which can help catch cancer development in earlier stages, there exists the risk of being overdiagnosed.
Younger women, for example, have been found to have more false positive events and biopsies leading to anxiety, when compared to older women.
Overall, early screenings may take a toll on the emotional, physical, psychological, and financial aspects of a person but Dr. Paul Doria-Rose, Ph.D., chief of NCI’s Healthcare Assessment Research Branch, tells the National Cancer Institute that “more research is needed to learn how frequently some screening harms happen.”
Meanwhile, smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer in the United States. The tobacco in cigarettes is a carcinogen that causes mutations in lung cells and enables the growth of cancer. In fact, about 80% of lung cancer deaths are caused by smoking, according to the American Cancer Society.
It’s also important to know that several thousand other lung cancer deaths are caused by exposure to secondhand smoke. The good news is that if you quit smoking, your risk for lung cancer decreases.
Take it from a guy who looks at diseased lungs every day: ‘Stop smoking’
“If you’re smoking, don’t smoke,” says Dr. Joseph Friedberg, Head of Thoracic Surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. “You never return down all the way to the [level of] the person who never smoked as far as your risk of lung cancer goes, but it goes down with time.”
“I think it behooves us all to try and increase the uptake of CT screening in particular, given that it’s been shown to reduce lung cancer mortality,” Dr. Forde adds.
The Importance of Cancer Screenings & Understanding Guidelines
It’s imperative that men and women of all ages understand that facts around cancer screenings. For example, when it comes to scheduling a screening, older women sometimes may have different options depending on guidelines.
Dr. Anna Beavis, a gynecological oncologist at John Hopkins Medicine, told SurvivorNet in an earlier interview, regarding cervical cancer, “A woman doesn’t need to come in for a pap smear every year, but can come in every three to five years, depending on her age.
“I still recommend that every woman go to their [gynecologist] every year for an exam, even if a pap smear isn’t being done.”
According to Dr. Beavis, women should start scheduling their cervical cancer screenings starting at age 21 and continue until age 65. However, even if you’re 65 years or older, that doesn’t mean you’re necessarily off the hook. In order to skip these screenings, you’ll need to have had regular pap smears for the past 10 years in order to get the all clear. These screenings are extremely important, especially since cervical cancer doesn’t present symptoms until it has advanced. By following guidelines and regularly having pap smears, your doctor can catch the disease before it has progressed.
RELATED: TV Stars Dying From Cancer — The Spike in Younger Generations Alarming Researchers
Dr. Beavis’ recommendation echoes that of the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) guidelines, which state women starting at age 21 to age 29 should have a pap smear every three years. For women 30-years-old to age 65, guidelines recommend women should get a pap smear along with an HPV test (or an HPV test alone) every five years. The guidelines also specify which women qualify for three year screenings while others qualify for five. To determine this, it’s important to talk to your doctor as to whether you are “high-risk” of the disease or not.
Alcohol and Cancer Risk
According to the National Cancer Institute, there is a clear link between consuming alcohol, especially drinking it regularly over time, and an increased risk of several cancers. Those cancers include head and neck, esophageal, liver, breast and colorectal.
A study published in JAMA Network in August 2022 found that people with “heavy drinking levels had an associated higher risk” of developing alcohol-related cancers “than those who did not drink.” The study included 4.5 million participants who self-reported their drinking habits.
The results concluded people who reduced their alcohol consumption lowered their risk.
Conversely, “Those with moderate or heavy drinking levels who quit drinking had a higher all cancer incidence than those who sustained their levels, but when quitting was sustained, this increase in risk disappeared.”
Additionally, the American Cancer Society warns that alcohol consumption can increase your risk for many different types of cancer. Considering cancers of the mouth, throat, voice box and esophagus, for example, alcohol “clearly” increases risk. That being said, the ACS notes that drinking and smoking together puts you at a much higher risk for these cancers than drinking or smoking alone.
Alcohol Can Increase the Risk of Developing Breast Cancer
“This might be because alcohol can help harmful chemicals in tobacco get inside the cells that line the mouth, throat, and esophagus,” the ACS website states. “Alcohol may also limit how these cells can repair damage to their DNA caused by the chemicals in tobacco.”
When it comes to liver cancer, “long-term alcohol use has been linked to an increased risk.” When you regularly drink a lot of alcohol, liver damage can occur and lead to inflammation and scarring a possible explanation for the increased risk.
We also know there’s a clear link between breast cancer and alcohol consumption. In November 2017, the American Society of Clinical Oncology published a statement citing evidence that links alcohol to multiple cancers and calling for reduced alcohol consumption as a way to cut people’s cancer risk. But many women said they had been drinking more during the pandemic, and 70 percent weren’t aware of the resulting increased cancer risk, according to a SurvivorNet survey in February 2021.
The ACS also reports that alcohol use has been linked with a higher risk of cancers of the colon and rectum with stronger evidence for this in men than in women, though studies have found the link in both sexes.
Does Alcohol Impact the Risks for Colon and Other Cancers?
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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