CATES: Cancer cases rise among those under 50

By Carol A. Cates, MSN, MBA, RN

Chief Nursing Officer

Odessa Regional Medical Center

In two months, I am having a birthday. It’s one I’ve been dreading for quite awhile now. Not because of the number, but because I will be the same age my mom was when she was diagnosed with cancer. She only had one more birthday after that.

I look so much like my mom that it’s a bit spooky at times. My Dad told me a few years ago that it is sometimes hard to talk to me on the phone because I sound like her too. In many areas I hope I am like my mom: her kindness, her devotion to God and to family, and her dedication to making the world a better place, just to name a few.

But dying at a young age is one way I don’t want to be like her. I want to meet all my grandkids. I want them to remember me for themselves, not just from stories, I want to be a “little old lady” someday long in the future.

Today, I saw an article that made me not just worry about me not living to an old age because of my mom and our commonalities, but also for my own kids, especially with our family history of cancer.

Worldwide, cancer diagnosis is increasing among people under age 50. For instance, colon cancer diagnoses have doubled in the US for people under age 50 since the 1990s. In a very large study published just last week, researchers looked at cancers that have increased in the amount of diagnosis before the age 50 during the years 2000 to 2012. They looked at hundreds of thousands of cancer cases across the planet during those years. The researchers found 14 specific types of cancer where the number of people diagnosed under age 50 significantly increased year to year during that period. Those cancers are: breast cancer, colorectal cancer, endometrial cancer, esophageal cancer, extra-hepatic (outside the live) bile duct cancer, gallbladder cancer, head and neck cancers, kidney cancer, liver cancer, bone marrow cancers, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, stomach cancer, and thyroid cancer.

Doctors have been discussing this anecdotally and in regional, cancer specific studies for years now. You may have noticed that for some cancers, screening tools are now being recommended to start at younger ages. This, however, is the first large-scale study that really shows the hard data across multiple types of cancer and shows the increase isn’t isolated to one population group. It is a worldwide problem.

The reason the researchers looked at it in such a large scale is they wanted to try to figure out a common denominator—basically a why. The first thing they noticed is what they called the “birth cohort effect.” What that means is each group of people they looked at, in this case groups of people aged 10 years apart, the cancer risk increased at a younger age. In other words, if you were born in 1960 your risk of developing cancer before age 50 was significantly more than those born in 1950, and it increased again for those born in 1970. The researchers felt that meant people were exposed to risk factors at a younger age.

On that, the researchers have several theories. Did you notice that most of the cancers on that list are related to the digestive tract? That lead researchers to look at diet and lifestyle. We know that more and more of the world is increasingly eating a “westernized” diet which is heavy in ultra-processed foods. You might remember a recent studydt that strongly links ultra-processed foods and cancers. Obesity, type 2 diabetes, sedentary lifestyles, and alcohol consumption have all also increased since the 1950s, especially in younger people. Those are also linked to cancer risk. Researchers are also looking at gut microbiomes and how they have changed over the years—again something that is largely related to diet and lifestyle.

This research is still ongoing, and they certainly haven’t figured out the exact why. We do know that the things we have talked about for years with cancer prevention, heart disease prevention, and just basic good health overall — those things matter. In relation to cancer risk those things matter more to our kids and grandkids than they do to those of use over 50.

A diet high in fruits and vegetables, low in calories and very low in processed foods matters.

Getting out and exercising and controlling our weight matters.

Getting cancer screenings when they are recommended matters, too. It doesn’t prevent the cancer, but it does catch it when it is likely to be treated quickly and with a distinct possibility of a cure.