Cancer cases in people under 50 have been rising dramatically for decades. A study now shows one reason for this.
Frankfurt – Cancer among younger people has become increasingly common in recent decades, according to a study by an international team from China's Zhejiang University. The global incidence of cancer among 14- to 49-year-olds increased by almost 79 percent between 1990 and 2019. A team of US researchers has now discovered a possible cause for this worrying development.
Significantly more cancer deaths among people between 14 and 49
Not only did the global incidence of cancer among younger people rise significantly. Deaths also increased by 27.7 percent between 1990 and 2019. In 2019, breast, tracheal, bronchial and lung cancer, as well as stomach and intestinal cancer, showed the highest mortality. The research team also expects a further increase in the incidence and mortality of cancer among younger people by 2030. The researchers identified the main causes for this increase as nutritional factors, as well as alcohol and tobacco consumption.
US researchers find cause of early cancer: Biological age is crucial
However, another possible cause for the increase in cancer among younger people has now been identified. A US research team discovered a connection between a person's biological age and cancer. Because age is a main risk factor for many types of cancer. Older age also means a higher risk of developing cancer. The same seems to be the case with biological age.
The study, recently presented at the American Association of Cancer Research's annual conference, includes medical records from 148,724 people. For the study, nine blood-based markers that correlate with biological age were evaluated. Using an algorithm, the biological age of the people could be calculated.
Biological age: Nine blood-based markers provide information
Albumin
: Decreases with age and is produced by the liver
Creatinine
: Lower levels are associated with longer life expectancy
Glucose
: Remains elevated for longer after eating with older age
C-reactive protein
: High levels correspond to faster aging
Lymphocyte proportion
: Concentration tends to decrease with age
Mean cell volume
: Increases with age
Width of red blood cell distribution
: tends to increase with age
Alkaline phosphatase
: tends to increase with age
White blood cell count
: If the count is at the upper end of the normal range, it may be associated with a higher degree of aging
These values were used to compare actual age with biological age, which made it possible to determine accelerated aging. The results show that people born after 1965 are 17 percent more likely to experience accelerated aging than people born between 1950 and 1954.
Accelerated aging increases the risk of cancer: especially lung, stomach and colon cancer, as well as uterine cancer
A connection has also been identified between accelerated aging and a higher risk of cancer. The strongest connections are with lung, stomach and colon cancer, as well as uterine cancer. For every standard deviation by which accelerated aging increases, the risk of early lung cancer increases by 42 percent, gastrointestinal cancer by 22 percent and early uterine cancer by 36 percent.
Although the study was not designed to identify why these types of cancer are particularly affected, study contributor Ruiyi Tian explains possible reasons. She suspects that the lungs are more affected by aging because they have little ability to regenerate. Likewise, the stomach and intestines are associated with inflammation, which increases with age, CNN reports.
Study allows people who are at higher risk of cancer to be identified at a young age
One of the main problems with the study is that people were not tracked over a longer period of time, but rather the values were only collected at one point in their lives. The poorly diverse population is also criticized. Nevertheless, research provides important information for cancer prevention. Tian explains: “If our results are confirmed, measures to slow down biological aging could be a new way to prevent cancer. And screenings tailored to younger people with signs of accelerated aging could help detect cancers early.”
The WHO expects a sharp increase in cancer cases in general, and there are four main causes for this. The topic of cancer becomes an issue for many people over the course of their lives. One in five people will develop cancer at some point in their life.