Recent findings from an American Cancer Society study show rising cancer rates among younger generations, with increases in incidence and mortality across multiple cancer types. This generational shift in cancer risk highlights the critical need for targeted health interventions and improved access to healthcare.
A recent comprehensive study conducted by the American Cancer Society (ACS) indicates that incidence rates for 17 of the 34 studied cancer types, such as breast, pancreatic, and gastric cancers, have been increasing in progressively younger populations. Additionally, the study found that mortality rates have risen alongside the incidence rates for specific cancers, including liver (in females only), uterine corpus, gallbladder, testicular, and colorectal cancers. The findings were recently published in the journal The Lancet Public Health.
“These findings add to growing evidence of increased cancer risk in post-Baby Boomer generations, expanding on previous findings of early-onset colorectal cancer and a few obesity-associated cancers to encompass a broader range of cancer types,” said Dr. Hyuna Sung, lead author of the study and a senior principal scientist of surveillance and health equity science at the American Cancer Society. “Birth cohorts, groups of people classified by their birth year, share unique social, economic, political, and climate environments, which affect their exposure to cancer risk factors during their crucial developmental years. Although we have identified cancer trends associated with birth years, we don’t yet have a clear explanation for why these rates are rising.”
Study Methodology and Detailed Findings
In this analysis, researchers obtained incidence data from 23,654,000 patients diagnosed with 34 types of cancer and mortality data from 7,348,137 deaths for 25 types of cancer for individuals aged 25–84 years for the period Jan 1, 2000, to Dec 31, 2019, from the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries and the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, respectively. To compare cancer rates across generations, they calculated birth cohort-specific incidence rate ratios and mortality rate ratios, adjusted for age effect and period effect, by birth years, separated by five-year intervals, from 1920 to 1990.
Researchers found that incidence rates increased with each successive birth cohort born since approximately 1920 for eight of 34 cancers. In particular, the incidence rate was approximately two-to-three times higher in the 1990 birth cohort than in the 1955 birth cohort for pancreatic, Kidney, and small intestinal cancers in both male and female individuals; and for liver cancer in female individuals.
Additionally, incidence rates increased in younger cohorts, after a decline in older birth cohorts, for nine of the remaining cancers including breast cancer (estrogen-receptor positive only), uterine corpus cancer, colorectal cancer, non-cardia gastric cancer, gallbladder cancer, ovarian cancer, testicular cancer, anal cancer in male individuals, and Kaposi sarcoma in male individuals. Across cancer types, the incidence rate in the 1990 birth cohort ranged from 12% for ovarian cancer to 169% for uterine corpus cancer higher than the rate in the birth cohort with the lowest incidence rate. Notably, mortality rates increased in successively younger birth cohorts alongside incidence rates for liver cancer (female only), uterine corpus, gallbladder, testicular, and colorectal cancers.
Implications and Future Concerns
“The increase in cancer rates among this younger group of people indicates generational shifts in cancer risk and often serves as an early indicator of future cancer burden in the country. Without effective population-level interventions, and as the elevated risk in younger generations is carried over as individuals age, an overall increase in cancer burden could occur in the future, halting or reversing decades of progress against the disease,” added Dr. Ahmedin Jemal, senior vice president, surveillance and health equity science at the American Cancer Society and senior author of the study. “The data highlights the critical need to identify and address underlying risk factors in Gen X and Millennial populations to inform prevention strategies.”
“The increasing cancer burden among younger generations underscores the importance of ensuring people of all ages have access to affordable, comprehensive health insurance, a key factor in cancer outcomes,” said Lisa Lacasse, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN). “To that end, ACS CAN will continue our longstanding work to urge lawmakers to expand Medicaid in states that have yet to do so as well as continue to advocate for making permanent the enhanced Affordable Care Act tax subsidies that have opened the door to access to care for millions.”
Reference: “Differences in cancer rates among adults born between 1920 and 1990 in the USA: an analysis of population-based cancer registry data” by Hyuna Sung, Chenxi Jiang, Priti Bandi, Adair Minihan, Miranda Fidler-Benaoudia, Farhad Islami, Rebecca L Siegel and Ahmedin Jemal, August 2024, The Lancet Public Health.
DOI: 10.1016/S2468-2667(24)00156-7
5 Comments
Possibly due to the continued pollution and degradation of our environment with chemicals and plastics.
Is it mere coincidence or am I the only one who sees a direct connection between the rising numbers of toxic FDA approved food additives and the increasing incidences of cancers through the years? For me the study highlights the futility of dedicated healthcare researchers referencing fatally flawed so-called “evidence-based” databases of all sizes and types. First, there is the failure to factor-in a (my) kind of food allergies, identified, studied and reported on by Dr. Arthur F. Coca by 1935 but still not recognized, researched and/or practiced as true allergies by mainstream medicine (e.g., https://www.seleneriverpress.com/historical/nonreaginic-allergy-in-theory-and-practice/), minimally. Then there is the failure to factor-in the FDA approved food poisoning (e.g., http://www.holisticmed.com/msg/TheErbreportonMSGtotheWHO.pdf), minimally. And, too, there is the failure to factor-in excessive related/resultant medical errors.
Additionally aggravating the ignorance and incompetence and exacerbating the economic difficulties of many, there is the long-term targeting of tobacco smoking which doesn’t cause cancer in all smokers, most likely just those unknowingly allergic to tobacco or something else in the smoke. Then, too, there is the ACA, which greatly expanded allergy, toxic food additives and excessive medical error ignorant and incompetent healthcare to people who mostly just have inferior and more toxic diets, probably killing a lot of them more prematurely. Having previously written the FDA, The Lancet and the ACS, minimally, years ago of some of this, in brief conclusion it is gross professional ignorance, incompetence, negligence and the unnecessary wasting of taxpayer dollars that is driving modern epidemics of various cancers, minimally, and threatening to prematurely disable and bankrupt the global population.
As a medical anthropologist, I look at cultural causes of disease. The article states, “Birth cohorts, groups of people classified by their birth year, share unique social, economic, political, and climate environments, which affect their exposure to cancer risk factors during their crucial developmental years. Although we have identified cancer trends associated with birth years, we don’t yet have a clear explanation for why these rates are rising.” We need to look at what younger people are doing or having done to them that is different from previous generations. This includes medical interventions, such as a large list of vaccinations given these days to babies and children compared to decades ago. There are also new drug therapies for conditions that were not considered as problematic in the past, such as ADHD and other mental health issues. Young people are also less physically active than in the past, and spend more time online, which impacts physical and mental health. However, the biggest issue is the increase in autism, eating disorders, anxiety, substance abuse, and other mental health issues for which children and adolescents get medicated. This means that medication for newly popular diseases and with new drugs may be also driving this problem, and you can’t expect the medical community, which gives these drugs and diagnoses, to point the finger at themselves. So it is not surprising that the conclusion of the article is to support more medical care.
Our system is corrupt and has been poisoning humans for years upon years.Due to what they inject to our foods, to the prescription we “have” to take..to the air and water we take in..humans are and always will be subject to major damage, illness etc…its all surrounds government and money…population control..so love your families and enjoy the life time you have together…!!
We’re being systematically poisoned through air, water, overprocessed food, dodgy meds and experimental so-called “vaccines”… Is it any wonder there are problems coming along?