TAMPA, Fla. — New reports show cancer is on the rise in younger adults.
“It’s always surprising when we see a number that would show that there’s an increase in rate in cancer in young patients,” said Dr. Bently Doonan, Assistant Professor at the University of Florida Division of Hematology and Oncology.
“These are great studies. People shouldn’t feel too much fear with them. It’s just really we have data that we need to understand,” he added.
Multiple studies have shown a rise in early onset cancer, that’s cancer in people under the age of 50.
One report, in particular, has surveillance data that’s been accumulated from about 2010-2019.
“With a quarter of the U.S. population being surveyed, it showed about half a million, so about 500,000 cancers that they would classify as early onset cancers,” said Dr. Michael Hwang, Director of Breast Imaging at Bayfront Health.
“Certainly, over the last five or six years, we’ve noticed this even just on a day-to-day basis with certain cancers,” said Doonan.
That study showed the biggest increase in younger people getting diagnosed with breast and colorectal cancers.
Researchers are trying to figure out if this increase is due to a biological change, a population change, or some combination of both because, over the years, access to healthcare has expanded, and more people have been screened.
“Over the course of the last few decades, our surveillance for breast cancer, in particular, has been top-notch. We’ve been getting better and better. In terms of getting the word out there, in terms of doctors referring to other doctors for screening mammograms, in terms of women coming in and taking the reigns on their own healthcare,” said Hwang.
Doctors believe this rise in early-onset cancers is likely due to several factors. They believe smoking and obesity play some role in this uptick.
“The other thing that really contributes to cancer is when we really stress the body in a way that we don’t want,” said Doonan.
Overall, doctors said these new studies are crucial in helping to treat patients, stressing the importance of better access to healthcare and early detection.
“Our goal is that if we can monitor and look at things from that 30,000-foot perspective, it can show us some trends that we might miss on the day-to-day basis seeing patients. It can also validate some things that we see clinically if we notice a given change in the rates, the frequency or what types of disease we’re seeing,” said Doonan.
“What really matters is access to care. If you have access to care, if you’re plugged into access with a provider, you then can identify in yourself something’s different. Then you’re not waiting to get that access. That’s one of the biggest things,” he added.
