04/06/2025
Cancer in people under 50 is still uncommon, but cases are going up, and researchers are trying to understand why. A new U.S. government study looked at over two million cancer cases diagnosed between 2010 and 2019 in people aged 15 to 49. The biggest increases were in breast, colorectal (colon), kidney, and uterine cancers. Breast cancer alone accounted for nearly 4,800 more cases than expected based on 2010 trends. Colorectal had about 2,000 extra cases, with kidney and uterine cancers also rising.
In total, 14 out of 33 cancer types are increasing in younger people, with 63% of those cases being in women. The exact reasons aren’t fully known yet, but scientists believe rising obesity rates might play a major role since several of these cancers are linked to excess weight. Other possible reasons include better cancer detection and lifestyle changes. For instance, women today often have children later in life, and that shift could affect breast cancer risk since pregnancy and breastfeeding lower that risk.
The good news is that while more young people are getting cancer, death rates aren’t rising for most types—though deaths from colorectal, uterine, and testicular cancers are increasing. On the flip side, lung and prostate cancer rates are dropping in younger people, likely because of lower smoking rates and updated screening guidelines that discourage early PSA testing in men.