Cancer Is Becoming Common In Young Americans- Here’s What To Do

According to a recent study published last month in JAMA Network Open, cancer rates among young Americans are on the rise.

Although cancer is still more common overall in patients older than 65 years of age, rates of cancer are increasing in patients younger than 50. The aforementioned study examined data from over 560,000 patients between 2010 and 2019 and found a nearly 1% increase in cancer diagnoses in patients younger than 50.

For patients between 30 and 39 years of age, cancer diagnoses increased by about 19%. During the study period, breast cancer accounted for the highest number of cancer cases in patients younger than 50, but gastrointestinal cancers (stomach, colon, appendix, bile duct) was the fastest growing of all the different cancer types.

This particular study did not account for population growth or for increased cancer detection, which may have accounted for some of the increased rates. Despite this, the results of this study underscore the importance of taking a proactive approach in mitigating cancer risk factors and increasing public awareness of screening programs in an effort to curb rising rates of cancer. Here’s what should and can be done.

Although cancer is a complex diagnosis that is often a result of a multiple factors, there are clear risk factors that are highly associated with many cancers. Take, for example, obesity.

Obesity is associated with at least 13 different cancers, including breast, colon, stomach and pancreas. America is the most obese country among all high-income countries, and more than two in five American adults are obese, according to data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

On an individual level, Americans must be cautious and control caloric intake with diet, as well as judiciously participate in regular exercise to remain as healthy as possible.

Even with improved individual diet and exercise, the obesity epidemic in America will never end based on individual efforts alone. Federal and state policymakers must make fighting obesity a priority in order to see meaningful results. One among many actions policymakers can take is increasing funding for important initiatives such as nutritional assist programs that are geared toward addressing structural factors contributing to obesity such as food insecurity.

Low-income communities and households can rarely afford food that has high nutritional content. Instead, they often settle for fast-food that is cheaper, higher in calories and lower in nutritional value. This type of food insecurity has allowed obesity to be more prevalent among minorities and those of lower socioeconomic status.

If America is ever to seriously address obesity, policymakers must be generous in funding nutritional assistance programs to decrease food insecurity, which will be one step in the right direction in fighting obesity and ultimately many of its negative consequences, among which is cancer.

Another important risk factor for cancer that often does not receive enough press is alcohol. It is also strongly linked to many cancers, according to the American Cancer Society, including breast and gastrointestinal cancers, which are currently on the rise in young Americans.

Despite the many harmful effects of alcohol on health, it remains an important part of American culture, served at nearly every important social event such as weddings, galas and celebrations. According to the American Public Health Association, alcohol provides no health benefits.

If this is in fact the case, public messaging should be centered around alcohol abstinence, not drinking in moderation. If Americans are ever to get serious about controlling alcohol use, and in particular mitigating its effects on cancer, every effort should be made to support a message of abstinence to the American public. Just as a message of smoking cessation is propagated via mass media through commercials, that should be the case with alcohol.

Finally, public health practitioners must become aggressive at screening for common cancers among the general public. Access to screening for the cancers that can be screened for should be free, widespread and available to all communities, including those of low-income.

Increased screening will invariably lead to higher cancer detection rates since more cancers will be picked up by diagnostic studies, but more lives will eventually be saved. Saving lives is ultimately the fundamental purpose of all screening studies.

As an example, consider breast cancer, which represents the second most common cancer in women in the United States. Of all new cases of breast cancer, 9% occur in women under the age of 45 years. Breast cancer is screened for by mammography, which is a diagnostic test that uses x-rays to detect a cancer in the breast. Data has demonstrated that mammographic screening starting at the age of 40 saves lives, reducing mortality by 40% when compared to no screening.

The data is clear. Cancer is rising among young Americans. It remains up to us to act to change the trajectory of cancer in the years to come.