Seven early-onset cancers rising sharply in England — SkimNews
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- Prostate cancer among men under 50 in England quadrupled from 1 to 3.6 per 100,000 people between 2001 and 2023, the sharpest jump in the World Cancer Research Fund's analysis of 12 tumour types.
- Early-onset bowel cancer in England more than doubled to 8.4 per 100,000 over the same period, while uterine (3.9) and kidney (3) cancer rates among under-50s also doubled.
- Breast cancer among England's under-50s rose from 42 to 47.5 per 100,000 by 2023, with smaller but notable increases in pancreatic and liver cancers.
- US data showed kidney cancer among under-50s more than doubling to 5.3 per 100,000 since 2000, while bowel, uterine, and pancreatic cancers each climbed more than 50% and breast cancer rose about 20%.
- The Netherlands recorded significant increases in early-onset bowel, kidney, liver, and cervical cancers, though lung cancer among the young declined across all three countries, reflecting falling smoking rates.
- World Cancer Research Fund linked the trend to obesity, poor diet, inactivity, alcohol, smoking, and environmental exposures, noting roughly 40% of cancers are tied to modifiable risk factors — while adding that greater awareness and earlier detection don't fully explain the rise.
- King's College London launched a 250,000-person trial funded by Cancer Research UK to investigate the early-onset bowel cancer surge, as the UK government said its national cancer plan aims for 75% of patients to be cancer-free or living well by 2035, saving 320,000 lives.
Why it matters: With prostate cancer in young English men quadrupling and bowel cancer doubling across three wealthy nations since 2001, the UK's pledge to save 320,000 cancer lives by 2035 faces a demographic shift toward patients diagnosed decades below the median age of 60. Researchers say modifiable lifestyle and environmental factors likely drive the surge, making prevention policy the front line of the response.
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