{"id":153937,"date":"2025-06-03T04:57:11","date_gmt":"2025-06-03T04:57:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/153937\/"},"modified":"2025-06-03T04:57:11","modified_gmt":"2025-06-03T04:57:11","slug":"experts-reveal-whats-driving-explosion-in-under-50s-cancer-cases-as-landmark-study-shows-23-per-cent-surge-since-the-90s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/153937\/","title":{"rendered":"Experts reveal what’s driving explosion in under 50s cancer cases – as landmark study shows 23 per cent surge since the 90s"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cancer\u00a0<\/a>deaths have fallen by more than a fifth over the past 50 years\u2014but diagnoses have soared with cases in younger adults driving the trend, a landmark study reveals.<\/p>\n

Experts say the spike in diagnoses is being fuelled in part by lifestyle factors\u2014including smoking, obesity and poor diet\u2014which remain among the leading causes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The analysis, from Cancer Research UK, is the first to examine 50 years of NHS<\/a> cancer data, revealing striking progress\u2014but also alarming new trends.<\/p>\n

The data reveals that although survival rates have improved dramatically since the 1970s, the risk of developing cancer has risen just as sharply.<\/p>\n

In 1973, around 328 in every 100,000 people died from the disease. By 2023, that figure had fallen to 252\u2014a 22 per cent drop\u2014thanks to earlier diagnosis and better treatments.<\/p>\n

But over the same period, the number of people developing cancer has soared by almost 50 per cent.<\/p>\n

Incidence rates have climbed from 413 to 607 per 100,000 people, with some of the sharpest rises seen in under 50s.<\/p>\n

Among those aged 20 to 49, rates are up by 23 per cent since the early 1990s.<\/p>\n

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Scientists are still trying to explore the factors behind the rise in early onset cancers, with some suggesting modern diets and exposure to substances like microplastics, or a combination of several triggers, could be to blame.<\/p>\n

Speaking this week at the\u00a0American Society of Clinical Oncology conference in Chicago<\/a>\u2014the world’s biggest cancer conference\u2014experts also cautioned that poor lifestyle was likely the driving factor.<\/p>\n

Presenting research on the key factors influencing the surge in colon cancer cases among people in their 20s, 30s and 40s, Dr Jessica Paulus a senior director of research at Ontada, said obesity was far higher among early-onset patients than ‘average age’.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Of the 14,611 young patients tracked in the study, more than a third were obese at time of diagnosis.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘Interestingly, distress thermometer data also showed early-onset patients were more likely to report high or moderate distress’ at time of diagnosis compared to older patients, she added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This thermometer is a tool health professionals ask patients to use to self-report feelings or issues, such as financial concerns, pain, fatigue and worry.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But drinking, physical inactivity and poor diet too plays a ‘huge’ role too,\u00a0Professor Neil Iyengar, an expert in breast oncology and the impact of lifestyle factors on cancer at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York, said.<\/p>\n

He told MailOnline: ‘The link between obesity and several forms of cancer is already well-established, but this data is mostly from older people.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\"Bowel <\/p>\n

Bowel cancer can cause you to have blood in your poo, a change in bowel habit, a lump inside your bowel which can cause an obstructions. Some people also suffer with weight loss a s a result of these symptoms<\/p>\n

‘Obesity rates are accelerating in the young. But having too much fat\u2014even if you have a normal body mass index\u2014also increases the risk of developing the disease.<\/p>\n

‘There’s also more and more data to suggest this rise in early onset cancer may be being driven by changes in the microbiome. ‘<\/p>\n

‘That suggests our diet and exercise is largely to blame, but it could also be food contamination.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘Our microbiome is exquisitely sensitive to what we eat. If microplastics or chemicals are shifting the microbiome, that could be contributing.<\/p>\n

‘It’s never too early to start good eating and exercise patterns.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘We need to start thinking of some foods and high-sugar beverages in a similar way that we think about smoking: unnecessary, addictive, and harmful.’\u00a0<\/p>\n

Other experts, however, cautioned that tobacco was likely not behind the rise in younger cancer cases.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Professor Paul Pharoah, an expert in cancer epidemiology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre in Los Angeles told MailOnline: ‘Smoking is unlikely to be a cause of the difference between younger and older people because the incidence of the major smoking related cancer, lung cancer, has come down in virtually all age groups.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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He added: ‘Screening is also unlikely to be a cause of the difference between younger and older people, as the screening programmes implemented by the NHS since 1990 would be more likely to increase incidence in older individuals.’\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

While cancer survival in England and Wales has doubled since the 1970s, progress has slowed sharply over the past decade.<\/p>\n

The report found that survival improved three to five times faster in earlier decades than it has since 2010.<\/p>\n

And despite the gains, the UK continues to lag behind comparable countries on key cancer outcomes.<\/p>\n

Late diagnosis remains a major issue.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Only 54 per cent of cancers in England are diagnosed at stage one or two\u2014the earliest phases, when tumours are usually small, haven’t spread far, and are most treatable.<\/p>\n

That figure has barely improved in the last ten years.<\/p>\n

Cancer Research UK’s chief executive, Michelle Mitchell, said: ‘It’s fantastic to see that thanks to research, cancer death rates have drastically reduced and survival has doubled.<\/p>\n

‘But more than 460 people are still dying from cancer every day in the UK. Too many cases are still being diagnosed too late.’<\/p>\n

The report also highlights the leading preventable causes of cancer.<\/p>\n

Smoking remains the biggest risk factor, but obesity\u2014now linked to 13 different types of the disease\u2014is rising rapidly.<\/p>\n

Other contributors include drinking, poor diet, sunbeds, lack of exercise and failure to protect skin from the sun.<\/p>\n

Cancer Research UK is urging the Government to act swiftly and decisively in its upcoming National Cancer Plan for England.<\/p>\n

It is calling for earlier diagnosis, faster access to tests, better GP referrals and a national lung cancer screening programme\u2014arguing that these steps could save thousands of lives.<\/p>\n

Mitchell added: ‘If this plan is done right, it could transform cancer care in this country and ensure people affected by cancer live longer, better lives.’<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cancer\u00a0deaths have fallen by more than a fifth over the past 50 years\u2014but diagnoses have soared with cases…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":153938,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[92,2396,105,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-153937","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-dailymail","9":"tag-graphics","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153937","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153937"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153937\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}