New cancer cases among those under 50 worldwide have increased by 79% in the last three decades, with the fastest increase in those of trachea and prostate and the highest number of deaths in those of breast, trachea, lung, intestine and stomach.
This is clear from a study carried out by 17 researchers belonging to institutions in China, the United States, Greece, the United Kingdom or Sweden, and published this Wednesday in the journal ‘BMJ Oncology’. The work is based on data between 1990 and 2019.
He breast cancer accounted for the highest number of cases in people under 50 in 2019, but those of windpipe (nasopharynx) and prostate they increased the fastest since 1990. Those that caused the greatest number of deaths and compromised health among the youngest adults in 2019 were those of the breast, trachea, lung, intestine and stomach.
This finding contradicts received wisdom about the types of cancer that typically affect those under 50 years of age.
While cancer tends to be more common in older people, evidence suggests that cases among people under the age of 50 have increased in many parts of the world since the 1990s, but most of these studies focused on regional and national differences, and few have looked at this issue from a global perspective or risk factors for younger adults.