The unknowns surrounding the mysterious rise of cancer in young adults
The increase in cancer among young adults has oncologists on edge. So much so that the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) congress, held recently in Barcelona, gave a talk on the subject to a packed room. Hundreds of oncologists from all over the world attended a lecture delivered by Shuji Ogino, a professor of Epidemiology at Harvard Medical School, on this “emerging global epidemic” that has specialists deeply concerned.
According to a study published in the journal BMJ Oncology, tumors in people under the age of 50 have increased by almost 80% in the past 30 years, but scientists have not yet managed to fully get to the bottom of why. The experts consulted say that current lifestyle habits are playing a significant role but may not explain the whole story. Moreover, according to Ogino, the increase in early-onset cancer is only “the tip of the iceberg” regarding a global rise in chronic diseases over several generations.
“We are seeing an increase of cases in young patients, and we are concerned because it is not always related to a specific cause,” says Ángela Lamarca, an oncologist at the Fundación Jiménez Díaz hospital in Madrid and spokesperson for the ESMO congress. This emerging tendency mostly concerns colorectal cancer, but it also occurs in other areas, such as pancreatic, esophageal, kidney, liver, biliary tract, gallbladder, stomach, head and neck or breast cancer, among others.
