Incidence of Many Cancer Types Increasing in People Under 50

A comprehensive analysis of cancer statistics for different age groups in the U.S. undertaken by NIH researchers found that “from 2010 through 2019, the incidence of 14 cancer types increased among people under age 50. Of these cancer types, nine…also increased in some groups of people aged 50 and older.”

That said, “the incidence of 19 other cancer types…decreased among people under age 50, so the total rate of all cancers diagnosed in both younger and older age groups did not increase, nor did the rate of cancer death.”

Researchers examined “incidence and mortality trends for 33 cancer types,” and the data were then analyzed in six age groups. Death rates “did not increase in early-onset age groups for most of these cancers,” but “researchers did observe concerning increases in rates of colorectal and uterine deaths at younger ages.”

The researchers then estimated “how many additional people were diagnosed with early-onset cancers in 2019 compared with expected diagnoses based on rates in 2010. The largest additional increases were seen for female breast cancer, with about 4,800 additional cases in 2019.”

Risk factors such as “increasing obesity may have contributed to some of the increases in early-onset cancer incidence in recent years. Changes in cancer screening guidelines, advances in imaging technologies, and increased surveillance of high-risk individuals may also have led to earlier cancer diagnoses, potentially contributing to rising rates among younger age groups.”