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Cases of seven cancer types increased significantly among people under 50 in England between 2001 and 2023, according to an analysis published Tuesday by World Cancer Research Fund International.
The organization examined official registry data for 12 cancer types. Significant rises were recorded in breast, colorectal, kidney, liver, pancreatic, prostate and uterine cancers.
Prostate cancer had the sharpest proportional increase. Diagnoses among men under 50 rose from 158 in 2001 to 640 in 2023, while the incidence rate climbed from 1 to 3.6 cases per 100,000 men. The cancer remains uncommon in this age group, with fewer than four cases per 100,000 men recorded in 2023.
Rates of early-onset colorectal cancer also rose markedly. Among women, the rate increased from 3.8 to 8.3 cases per 100,000, and among men it went from 4 to 8.4.
Uterine cancer rates among women more than doubled, from 1.8 to 3.9 cases per 100,000. Kidney cancer rates increased from 1.2 to 2.3 per 100,000 women and from 1.9 to 3.6 per 100,000 men.
Breast cancer remained the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women under 50, with its rate rising from 42 to 47.5 cases per 100,000. Smaller increases were also found in liver and pancreatic cancers.
The analysis also covered registry data from the United States and the Netherlands. It identified significant increases in five cancers in the US — breast, colorectal, kidney, pancreatic and uterine — and four in the Netherlands: cervical, colorectal, kidney and liver cancer.
Researchers say causes remain unclear
The fund said the analysis identified trends but did not establish their causes. “The short answer is we don’t completely know yet,” it said, adding that several factors could be interacting.
Population-level changes in obesity, physical activity and diet may account for some of the increase. Diets high in red and processed meat, fast food and sugary drinks, as well as diets low in fibre, are associated with a higher risk of some cancers.
Smoking, alcohol consumption and excessive sun exposure are other modifiable risk factors. The organization cautioned, however, that these factors probably explain only part of the changing pattern and that the findings do not show that personal choices caused any individual cancer case.
Researchers are also investigating whether pollution, chemicals, plastics, antibiotic use and changes to the gut microbiome may affect cancer risk across generations.
Greater awareness and improved diagnosis could account for part of the rise, as younger adults may be more likely to recognize symptoms and seek medical attention. Better testing can also identify cancers that might previously have gone undetected.
The fund said improved detection could not explain the entire increase, particularly in cases where mortality is also rising.
Cancer remains predominantly a disease of older adults. In developed countries, the average or median age at diagnosis is above 60, and early-onset cancer is uncommon compared with cancer among people over 50.
The English figures were calculated using age-specific incidence rates, which account for the size of the under-50 population but not changes in its age distribution. The fund said further research into genetics, environmental exposure, tumour biology and the microbiome is needed to explain why some cancers are becoming more common among younger generations.
