The unknowns surrounding the mysterious rise of ca

🎀 Highlights

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.

the increase in early-onset cancer is only “the tip of the iceberg” regarding a global rise in chronic diseases over several generations.

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.

Family history and hereditary syndromes, on the other hand, may account for a portion of new diagnoses, but these are not among the most frequent.

Oncologists are seeing cases of pancreatic cancer at 40, when it was previously being detected in people over 65.

unhealthy lifestyle habits play a fundamental role. Western diets, rich in carbohydrates and processed food that lead to obesity clearly contribute, as does a sedentary lifestyle, and toxic habits such as smoking and alcohol, explains David Páez,

“In utero exposures can lead to cellular reprogramming, including epigenetic alterations, which could have long-lasting effects on susceptibility to chronic diseases,” they note.

“it’s something that is affecting generation after generation, with people born in 1990 having a significantly higher rate of developing colorectal cancer compared to people born in 1950.” Kimmie Ng added, “We think it’s due to environmental exposure. To what exactly? We don’t know. Again, we’ve looked at obesity, we’ve also looked at sedentary behavior, higher consumption of sugar, sweets and drinks, lower levels of vitamin D, and they all seem to be associated with increased risk, but I don’t think that’s the whole story.”

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.

the increase in early-onset cancer is only “the tip of the iceberg” regarding a global rise in chronic diseases over several generations.

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.

Family history and hereditary syndromes, on the other hand, may account for a portion of new diagnoses, but these are not among the most frequent.

Oncologists are seeing cases of pancreatic cancer at 40, when it was previously being detected in people over 65.

unhealthy lifestyle habits play a fundamental role. Western diets, rich in carbohydrates and processed food that lead to obesity clearly contribute, as does a sedentary lifestyle, and toxic habits such as smoking and alcohol, explains David Páez,

“In utero exposures can lead to cellular reprogramming, including epigenetic alterations, which could have long-lasting effects on susceptibility to chronic diseases,” they note.

“it’s something that is affecting generation after generation, with people born in 1990 having a significantly higher rate of developing colorectal cancer compared to people born in 1950.” Kimmie Ng added, “We think it’s due to environmental exposure. To what exactly? We don’t know. Again, we’ve looked at obesity, we’ve also looked at sedentary behavior, higher consumption of sugar, sweets and drinks, lower levels of vitamin D, and they all seem to be associated with increased risk, but I don’t think that’s the whole story.”