New Delhi: Recently a study published in The Lancet Oncology revealed alarming cancer trends in India which reported approximately 1.2 million new cancer cases and 930,000 cancer-related deaths in 2019, making it the second-highest contributor to Asias cancer burden that year. Cancer incidence is attributed to various factors, including lifestyle, genetics and increasing air pollution.Furthermore, a new study in The Lancet Public Health found that Generation X and millennials face a higher risk of developing 17 types of cancer compared to previous generations. Analyzing data from over 23 million cancer patients and 7 million cancer-related deaths between 2000 and 2019, researchers identified a concerning trend across 34 types of cancer and 25 types of cancer-related deaths among adults aged 25-84.Cancer risk surges in younger generationsThe study revealed a striking trend, with individuals born in the early 1990s showing a two to three-times higher incidence rate of the small intestine, kidney, and pancreatic cancers compared to those born in the late 1950s. In contrast, women born in the late 1950s had a lower incidence rate of liver cancer, oral cancer and throat cancer (excluding HPV-related cases) compared to their millennial counterparts.This shift in cancer incidence rates is observed across 17 specific types of cancer, including gastric cardia, small intestine, estrogen receptor-positive breast, ovary, liver and intrahepatic bile duct cancers in women, as well as non-HPV linked oral and pharynx cancers, anus, colon, rectal, uterine corpus, gallbladder, kidney, pancreatic, myeloma, non-cardia gastric, testis, leukaemia and Kaposi sarcoma, underscores a concerning pattern of increased cancer risk among younger generations.10 out of 17 cancer cases in the younger birth groupThe study also revealed that obesity was linked to an increased rate of 10 out of the 17 cancers in younger birth cohorts, highlighting a concerning trend. Furthermore, the researchers observed a simultaneous rise in both cancer incidence rates and death rates among younger generations, particularly for liver cancer in women, uterine corpus, gallbladder, testicular and colon and rectal cancers, indicating a growing cancer burden in younger age groups.
