In addition to cancer cases, deaths from the disease among young people have also increased in recent decades. Now a cause seems to have been found.
Kassel – An increase in global cancer mortality and incidence among younger people is cause for concern, a study shows. In the 14 to 49 age group, both illnesses and deaths increased significantly. Between 1990 and 2019, an increase in cancer cases of almost 79 percent was recorded in this group. A possible reason for this development now emerges from another, very recent study.
Deaths from cancer among people under 50 increased: further increase expected until 2030
In addition to the global incidence, cancer deaths among people under 50 also increased by 27.7 percent between 1990 and 2019. In 2019, breast, stomach, colon, tracheal, bronchus and lung cancers in particular showed the highest mortality rates among younger people. In addition, this development is expected to continue in the coming years. The research team expects an increase in mortality and the number of cancer cases among people under 50 by 2030.
The researchers identified diet-related factors as well as alcohol and tobacco consumption as the main causes of the increase in recent decades.
Cause of more early cancers? Researchers are targeting biological age
A new possible risk factor for cancer in younger age groups has now been discovered by a US research team. The scientists found that a person's biological age is closely linked to the risk of cancer. Since age is generally considered a risk factor for various types of cancer, biological age also plays a similar role.
A recent study presented at the annual meeting of the American Association of Cancer Research analyzed medical records of 148,724 people from the UK Biobank database. Nine blood-based markers that are related to biological age were evaluated. A specially developed algorithm made it possible to calculate the biological age of these individuals.
Faster aging: Blood-based markers as a guide
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
In this study, participants' chronological age was compared to their biological age, which revealed accelerated aging. In particular, people born after 1965 have a 17 percent higher tendency to accelerated aging than those born between 1950 and 1954.
Lung and gastrointestinal cancer: This is why these types of cancer could be affected
A clear connection has also been found between accelerated aging and an increased risk of cancer. The correlation is particularly strong in lung, stomach, colon and uterine cancer. For every standard deviation that 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 clarify why these cancers are so severely affected, a contributor to the study, Ruiyi Tian, offers plausible explanations. She suspects that the lungs are particularly susceptible to aging processes due to their limited ability to regenerate. In addition, increasing inflammation in the stomach and intestines with increasing age could play a role, reports
CNN
.
Opportunity for the future: “Could help detect cancer at an early stage”
But the study also shows weaknesses. Because the test subjects could not be followed over a longer period of time. There is also a lack of diversity in the population examined. Despite these points of criticism, the study provides valuable insights for cancer prevention. Ruiyi Tian explains: “If our results are confirmed, measures to slow down biological aging could be a new way to prevent cancer, and screening tests tailored to younger people with signs of accelerated aging could help detect cancer at an early stage.” The result A new study shows: This food is said to reduce the risk of cancer.