The World Cancer Research Fund has found more under-50s in England are being diagnosed with cancer of the prostate, kidney, womb, liver, pancreas and breast. Researchers identified up to three-fold increases in cancer rates in younger adults.
Charity calls for more research
The charity is demanding more research into why this is happening. Experts have previously blamed modern junk food diets and increasing rates of obesity.
It was previously known that bowel cancer was increasing in younger adults - highlighted by Dame Deborah James before her death - but the new analysis shows this is the case for a range of cancers.
NHS data analysis
The new World Cancer Research Fund analysis of NHS data in England in 2001 and 2023 shows the problem could be much bigger.
There were 158 cases of prostate cancer diagnosed among men under the age of 50 in 2001 - equating to one case per every 100,000 men under 50 - but this rose to 640 cases in 2023 - the equivalent of 3.6 cases per 100,000.
Women under 50 diagnosed with breast cancer increased from 6,886 in 2001 to 8,507 in 2023. This was an increase in incidence among younger adults from 42 per 100,000 in 2001 to 47.5 per 100,000 in 2023.
Rising rates across multiple cancers
Some 510 adults under 50 were diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2001 compared to 1,065 in 2023 - the equivalent rise of 1.5 cases per 100,000 adults under 50 in 2001, rising to three per 100,000 in 2023.
Rates of women aged under 50 diagnosed with womb cancer increased from 1.8 per 100,000 in 2001 to 3.9 per 100,000 in this age bracket in 2023 - an increase of 335 cases in 2001 to 698 in 2023.
Liver cancer rates among adults under 50 rose from 0.5 per 100,000 in 2001 to 0.8 per 100,000 in 2023, with actual case numbers rising from 160 in 2001 to 278 in 2023.
During the same time frame early cases of pancreatic cancer rose from 255 to 346 - with incidence rates rising from 0.8 per 100,000 in 2001 to one per 100,000 in 2023.
Bowel cancer cases increased from 1,289 in 2001 to 2,989 in 2023, a rise from 3.9 cases per 100,000 adults under 50 in 2001 to 8.4 per 100,000 in 2023.
Expert reaction and new trial
Dr Giota Mitrou, executive director at WCRF, said: "These figures should make us pause and think, because this current trajectory is concerning. Behind every figure is a person facing cancer earlier than they, their family and often their doctor would expect. These findings show that the early-onset cancer picture in England is far wider and more complex, involving several cancers rather than bowel cancer alone."
"While cancer is still much more common in older adults, these changing patterns among younger generations need to be treated as a serious research and cancer prevention priority."
A major UK trial has been launched this week by King’s College London into the surge in younger people getting bowel cancer, with numbers doubling since 1990. The trial, featured in last night’s BBC Panorama programme, will follow 250,000 healthy participants for years to understand how diet, lifestyle, daily habits, gut health, and environmental exposures influence their chances of getting the disease.
Dr Vanessa Gordon-Dseagu, WCRF's international research manager, said: "We need to understand what is driving these trends, including modifiable risk factors and exposures experienced earlier in life, changes in screening and diagnosis, tumour biology, and whether some groups are being affected more than others."
"This information will help policymakers determine where action would have the greatest impact, both for younger generations today and for those growing up in the future." Experts had previously established that early-onset bowel cancer has increased "substantially" around the world since 1990 but the UK has one of the fastest rising rates.
