Cancer cases among people under 50 have increased in the US, according to research

As part of the study conducted by the National Cancer Institute, scientists examined data on more than 2 million cancer cases diagnosed in people aged 15-49 between 2010-2019.

Researchers who examined the increase in cancer rates in 2019 compared to 2010 found that there were about 4,800 additional cases of breast cancer, about 2,000 additional cases of colorectal cancer and about 1,200 additional cases of uterine cancer compared to the predicted rate.

Researchers found that the most common types of early-onset cancer among women were melanoma, breast and thyroid cancer , while the most common types in men were melanoma, colorectal and testicular cancer.

Researchers noted that approximately 63 percent of cancers diagnosed at an early age are seen in women, and the most common cancers detected are breast and uterine cancers.

Researchers reported that there was an increase in the mortality rate of people diagnosed with testicular, uterine, colorectal and bone-joint cancers, out of 14 cancer types with increasing incidence, and noted that this rate did not increase in young adult age group people diagnosed with cancer.

The researchers stated that the findings may have important implications for the prevention and screening of early-onset cancers.

"Understanding which cancers are increasing in younger age groups and whether these increases are also seen in older age groups will guide future studies to investigate the reasons for the increase," said Meredith Shiels, lead author of the study and a senior investigator at the National Cancer Institute.

Pointing out that some of the cancer types with increasing numbers of cases are associated with excess body weight, Shiels said, "Therefore, one of the leading hypotheses is that obesity rates are increasing."

The research was published in the American Association for Cancer Research journal "Cancer Discovery."