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Medicine

Why Are So Many Young People Getting Cancer? What the Data Say 207

Rates of more than a dozen cancers are increasing among adults under 50 worldwide, with the number of early-onset cancer cases predicted to rise by around 30% between 2019 and 2030. Investigators are searching for explanations, considering factors such as obesity, early-cancer screening, gut microbiome, and tumor genomes. Despite increased screening and awareness, mortality from early-onset cancers has risen by nearly 28% between 1990 and 2019 globally.
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Why Are So Many Young People Getting Cancer? What the Data Say

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  • by zenlessyank ( 748553 ) on Wednesday March 13, 2024 @11:01AM (#64312283)

    Next question.

    • I am going to throw in "vaping" and "tiktok"

    • Boomers and gen X were exposed to high concentration of lead from leaded gasoline. I'm glad that is over.

      • Not over, we're coming back. Now soliciting funds for my blockbuster motion picture Tetraethyl Undead.

        On NJ Turnpike trips to Newark airport, a couple of times appeared a tanker truck of the stuff. The tank was smaller than on other trucks. This was before the era of UN coded hazmat placards. Instead, the truck had large signs with skull and crossbones, reading something like "Deadly poison. If this truck is leaking, do not approach. Call xxx-yyyy."

        • Note you said "airport". The one remaining use of TEL in the USA is for piston engine planes - LL100. That use is minor compared to all the gasoline used by land vehicles, but even it's endangered - to be gone by 2030.

    • OK, boomer (Score:2, Insightful)

      by rsilvergun ( 571051 )
      Man, I think you just boomer troll comment of the year.

      Cell Phones have been pretty well tested and there's nothing to indicate they cause cancer. You only mentioned them to bring up the image of a kid glued to their cell phone is which a favorite boogie man of the boomer.

      As for Laziness, again, favorite boogieman of the boomer. Kids these days have 4-6 hours of homework a night. You'd know that if you ever talked to and listened to any kids.

      And as for environmental poisonings, I'll give you tha
      • Re:OK, boomer (Score:5, Informative)

        by ewibble ( 1655195 ) on Wednesday March 13, 2024 @01:35PM (#64312847)

        What child has 4-6 hours of homework a night, seriously say they come home at 4 if they finish at 3 (1 hour travel time) and work till 8 till 10 straight.

        That does not include, thing like eating. It sound ludicrous so probably is.

        Yes there maybe days when it happens sure, but that's probably because they didn't do their homework given weeks ago and are doing it last minute.

        From here https://www.washingtonpost.com... [washingtonpost.com] it states there was a survey that said it was 2.7 hours, but state its actually more like 1 hour.

        If its your child maybe they are lying to you and playing games, or maybe they have some serious learning difficulties.

        • For my last 2 years of high school I had 4 hours of homework a night. That got me into a good university, so it was worth it.

        • Mine did (Score:3, Funny)

          by rsilvergun ( 571051 )
          I finished putting them through highschool/college about 4 years ago. And yeah, huge homework workloads. I used to walk up to piss at midnight and find them doing homework for the next day.

          Kids know exactly how terrible a world the boomers are leaving them. How gruesomely competitive and how few opportunities the boomers left behind in their wake with their endless hunger for RVs and tax cuts for the wealthy. They're the ones that came up with "OK boomer". It was a FU to the previous generations that sc
      • Nobody said shit about radiation, captain make-up. I'm talking about the psychology of the damn things in the hands of non adults. There is so much radiation from cell, TV, and other various sources including satellites bathing us radiation. Yes, I used radiation twiced in a sentence. And I threw in twiced just for your amusement.

      • If you were an extra-terrestrial & you watched how humans treat immigrants & anyone different to themselves, would you want to visit?
    • Against stupidity we are defenseless. Neither protests nor the use of force accomplish anything here; reasons fall on deaf ears; facts that contradict oneâ(TM)s prejudgment simply need not be believed â" in such moments the stupid person even becomes critical â" and when facts are irrefutable they are just pushed aside as inconsequential, as incidental.

      -Dietrich Bonhoeffer

    • Incorrect spelling is the largest cause of cancer. What is Eviromental?

  • by nycsubway ( 79012 ) on Wednesday March 13, 2024 @11:19AM (#64312351) Homepage

    About 2-3 years ago, our MRI tech of 20 years started noticing many more young women coming in with breast cancer. Much younger than normal, and more frequent than normal, and more advanced stages. It was anecdotal, but enough for her to notice the difference.

    I was thinking COVID. Either covid was acting as a viral trigger for cancer, or people delayed routine screenings during covid until it was more significant.

    • by DesScorp ( 410532 ) on Wednesday March 13, 2024 @11:37AM (#64312421) Journal

      About 2-3 years ago, our MRI tech of 20 years started noticing many more young women coming in with breast cancer. Much younger than normal, and more frequent than normal, and more advanced stages. It was anecdotal, but enough for her to notice the difference.

      The number of young women on birth control pills has increased in percentage over the years, and those that use them are staying on them for much longer durations than in the past. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a link.

      • by smooth wombat ( 796938 ) on Wednesday March 13, 2024 @12:13PM (#64312557) Journal
        The number of young women on birth control pills has increased in percentage over the years,

        Based on the evidence [cancer.gov], taking birth control pills for at least 5 years may lead to an increased risk of breast and cervical cancer, while at the same time reducing the risk of endometrial, ovarian, and colorectal cancer.
      • by Afell001 ( 961697 ) on Wednesday March 13, 2024 @12:34PM (#64312653)
        We know that hormones have a huge impact on gene expression, and that most forms of cancer are caused by inactive gene sequences that are not in expression that become active due to hormone changes. This could be especially significant when we start screwing around with nature by artificially changing the environment, such as hormonal birth control and introduction of artificial estrogens (the controversy over BHP and other polyesters, for instance). There is great hesitation in funding this research because of the huge liability it will create for the plastics industry and for big pharma, but it will be highly important for the continued health of everyone. For a better idea of how impactful the conclusion of research can be, take a look at the widespread use of asbestos in almost every facet of fireproofing and the current amount of mesothelioma litigation that continues to be ongoing. Or the amount of money that the tobacco industry continues to pay out because they did the research and ignored the conclusions.
      • by Kisai ( 213879 )

        The problem with hormone based BC is that it's really unnecessary in the first place. There are other options that are more "semi-permanent", like IUD's (not without potential permanent loss of fertility) that don't screw with the hormones in the body.

    • by rapidmax ( 707233 ) on Wednesday March 13, 2024 @11:39AM (#64312431) Homepage

      We know COVID-19 can downregulate the immune system. This may increases the risk for early onset cancer. If this is true, long COVID patients are at biggest risk to develop cancer, but this may affect even non-long COVID cases from mild Covid-19 infections.

      Various viruses have been identified to increase cancer risk, it won't be a big surprise if SARS-CoV-2 is in this group.

      • by e3m4n ( 947977 )
        Well HPV sure as hell was, so you could be right. Another possibility is that the 2019 spike could just be those that got a chicken pox vaccine finally got to an age where cancer more possible. In the 80s your varicella vaccine was being thrown in a room with infected kids.
    • The study is extrapolating using data from the years 1990 to 2019, I don't think COVID is a factor. And although we have learned that viruses can cause cancers, it wouldn't explain the rise in cases unless you can find an increased spread of such viruses.

      • Yeah unfortunately even if it is correct, if the viruses caused subacute infection it wouldn't likely have left any marks in the historical data to look at. If a ubiquitous rhinovirus was the latent cause of 80% of prostate cancer it'd be a lot of dumb luck to figure it out.
        • I think it would be a lot more interesting just finding out rhinovirus can infect a prostate in the first place.

      • by dgatwood ( 11270 )

        The study is extrapolating using data from the years 1990 to 2019, I don't think COVID is a factor. And although we have learned that viruses can cause cancers, it wouldn't explain the rise in cases unless you can find an increased spread of such viruses.

        My first guess would be antibacterial soap causing weaker immune systems from lack of exposure, coupled with excessively sanitary conditions leading to inadequate bacterial diversity.

        Regular exposure to pathogens at a limited level keeps your immune system paying attention. The less frequently it gets triggered, the less likely it is to notice other things in time to stop them. Regular exposure to pathogens is critically important during childhood years, and lack thereof is likely the cause of allergies a [sciencedirect.com]

        • by PCM2 ( 4486 )

          My first guess would be antibacterial soap causing weaker immune systems from lack of exposure, coupled with excessively sanitary conditions leading to inadequate bacterial diversity.

          Nah. Even if you wash every single bacterium off your hands, they'll be covered again within a few minutes. And unless you wash your face every time you wash your hands, your face is covered with bacteria, mites, and all kinds of things. Got a beard? Even better. The real problem with antimicrobial soaps is that the chemicals used to kill the bacteria can be retained in tissues and potentially cause various types of human disease.

          And I'm not sure what you mean by cleaning causing "inadequate bacterial diver

          • by dgatwood ( 11270 )

            My first guess would be antibacterial soap causing weaker immune systems from lack of exposure, coupled with excessively sanitary conditions leading to inadequate bacterial diversity.

            Nah. Even if you wash every single bacterium off your hands, they'll be covered again within a few minutes. And unless you wash your face every time you wash your hands, your face is covered with bacteria, mites, and all kinds of things. Got a beard? Even better. The real problem with antimicrobial soaps is that the chemicals used to kill the bacteria can be retained in tissues and potentially cause various types of human disease.

            I mean yes, but they'll be covered by different bacteria, and are more likely to be covered with bacteria that are less sensitive to Triclosan, for exactly the reasons you mention.

            And I'm not sure what you mean by cleaning causing "inadequate bacterial diversity." Even hospitals, which actively try to sterilize their environments (as opposed to just wiping off the kitchen countertop) are rife with bacteria, including strains that occur nowhere else but in hospitals.

            They occur nowhere but in hospitals largely because both sterilization and antibiotics kills bacteria at different rates depending on their sensitivity, which leads to resistant strains. That's what I mean by inadequate bacterial diversity.

            And we're seeing the same thing in gut microbiomes because of overuse of antibiotics that e

    • Jepp Covid has been linked indirectly to cancer for several reasons, one of them being that it shreds your immune system and goes into various organs of your body! Call me not surprised that cancer rates among young people are rising, the same goes for other things linked to covid like brain fog etc.. aka neural problems and rising cases of infections with other diseases!

  • Cancer (Score:2, Informative)

    by merde ( 464783 )

    Toxic chemicals in the environment.
    Bad quality air.
    Excessive amounts of ultra-processed foods.

    • Re:Cancer (Score:5, Interesting)

      by CalgaryD ( 9235067 ) on Wednesday March 13, 2024 @11:50AM (#64312477)
      In 198x the air was much worse then now. The air quality dramatically improved after the catalytic converters had been mandated.

      You are putting all modern fears in one pile. I do not think that doing this is helpful. Not everything is bad, not everything is dangerous.

      • Re:Cancer (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Freischutz ( 4776131 ) on Wednesday March 13, 2024 @12:24PM (#64312609)

        In 198x the air was much worse then now. The air quality dramatically improved after the catalytic converters had been mandated.

        You are putting all modern fears in one pile. I do not think that doing this is helpful. Not everything is bad, not everything is dangerous.

        Is he? Pesticide, herbicide and fungicide use rocketed up until the 80s and have remained constant ever since. The use of plastics has done nothing but grow since the 80s and the amount of micro and nano plastics as well as chemicals leached from waste plastic that people are exposed to has increased proportionately. When cancer rates go up there is a reason for it and wondering why is not paranoia.

      • What age are those born in 198x? ;)

        I'm one of those people. I am now in the age-group of the people who are unexpectedly getting cancer.
    • by e3m4n ( 947977 )
      It might not even have to be ultra processed. It could be the additives, preservatives, and hormones. In the 80s it was something like 1in50 or 1in25 people got cancer by a certain age. Now it is 1in4. Air quality was not so great in the 70s, this was before unleaded gas and catalytic converters. My money is on the chems in the food. Organic isnt much better in some cases. Go look at ‘organic’ sour cream. The ingredients list takes several lines. Now go look at the ingredient list of regular Dai
      • And glysophate everywhere. Anecdotal evidence: my neighbor has two friends who spray that stuff along the freeway. both got the same type of brain cancer.
  • People think they need "clean" water, but the sources and methods they are choosing are adding nano-plastic particles to their water. Its like the asbestos problem all over again.
    • I'd recently been considering options for distilling my drinking water but it seems like a lot of work, and the older I get and the way the world has been heading, I'm not too interested in maximizing my time here.
      • Pretty sure drinking distilled water has it's own issues if it isn't re-mineralized but reverse osmosis systems are fairly common and affordable and get you pretty much all the way there.

      • Do we know if distillation will remove microplastics? I'm no expert, but my understanding of their size would lead me to guess that they'll cruise along in vaporized water with no problem at all.
        • A recent article noted that nano-plastics will precipitate out of boiled hard water along with the minerals and that calcium carbonate can be dissolved in water that is not hard to accomplish the same thing ... or don't drink water that has been processed with plastic.
    • by whitroth ( 9367 )

      STOP BUYING BOTTLED WATER!!!!!

      Put a freakin' filter on your faucet, like I do, or buy a filter pitcher.

  • by davide marney ( 231845 ) on Wednesday March 13, 2024 @11:41AM (#64312437) Journal

    According to the linked article:

    - The rates and deaths from early-onset cancer decreased from 1990 to 2019.
    - The rates of cancer are increasing only since 2019 -- and by a whopping 30% (!)
    - But all those increases are based on models, not actual data

    • Why misinform about a topic like this?

      - The rates and deaths from early-onset cancer decreased from 1990 to 2019.

      "In some countries, including the United States" but not globally

      - The rates of cancer are increasing only since 2019 -- and by a whopping 30% (!)

      That's not what they said at all. Based on the 28% increasing rate in the years 1990-2019 they predicted a further 30% increase by 2030

      - But all those increases are based on models, not actual data

      Let me know when you can get real data from the future. Until then I'll be using models which, as the saying goes, are wrong but useful.

      • There was no "increasing rate from 1990 to 2019". Please read the article. Look at the charts they provided. The article is very plain on this point. The summary is, unfortunately, less clear.

        • "This rise, coupled with an increase in global population, means that the number of deaths from early-onset cancers has risen by nearly 28% between 1990 and 2019 worldwide. "

          Straight out of the article, WTF are you on about?

      • by coop247 ( 974899 )
        Yes thank you I had to go back to the article, confused, because it seemed like every point this person made was 100% wrong. And I was correct.
    • - But all those increases are based on models, not actual data

      This is an outright lie.
      Mortality estimate for the future is a model, the increase from 1990 to 2019 in incidences of ealier-than-expected cancer is based on data.
      Currently, there is a long term trend of decreasing mortality from all cancers, but that trend has recently flattened. The modeling treats that flattening as an increase of mortality hidden by our general downward trend.

      Fuck everyone who modded you up.

      • I'm just repeating what the actual article said. The article says everything 2019+ is based on a model. Their graphics are completely honest, they show different lines for data vs. projection.

    • What happened between 2019 and 24.. covid did...

  • by llZENll ( 545605 ) on Wednesday March 13, 2024 @11:52AM (#64312485)

    #1 is food, namely sugar, also habitually too much food.

    • by schwit1 ( 797399 )

      If you look at food ingredients in the US it looks like a chemistry set. The crap in there is taste additives, preservatives and to make the food look appetizing.
      https://www.cbsnews.com/news/u... [cbsnews.com]

      Sugar is bad, but high fructose corn syrup and artificial sweeteners are worse. I would add a lack of outdoor exercise

  • They put that shit on everything.

  • by groobly ( 6155920 ) on Wednesday March 13, 2024 @12:25PM (#64312615)

    Maybe the fact that we have gotten a lot better at curing cancer, or delaying death by many years, is what is behind this. If someone who has had a cured cancer begets children after that, it increases the incidence of any cancer proclivity genes in the population, as well as anyone who has had gene therapy. In addition anyone who has had cancer is that much more likely to hurry up and procreate. This effect only works for people who get cancer during or before reproductive years, so is more likely to have an effect on descendants in their reproductive years.

  • I'd be interested in the differences between first world and third world countries.

    • by PCM2 ( 4486 )

      I suspect that would be difficult to do. Many people in poor countries probably either never get treated or don't have any kind of measurable records of their treatments, especially for long-term chronic illnesses like cancer. And then, which countries would you measure and compare? I'd suspect people living in countries that have experienced recent war or environmental crises would have a much higher instance of cancer than those that haven't.

      At the end of the day, the only simple comparison to make is bet

  • Hmmmm, it's almost as if they've all been injected with an experimental vaccine recently....
  • ... young? It doesn't feel young to be this old.

  • Did anybody look at the graphs in the report? Hockey Stick itis.

  • That seem largely ignored as any study talking about microplastics seems to be like "Well, it might do something, but who knows, anyway" while so many of these seem to very specifically **not** mention them as a possibility at all.

  • Nobody will even consider the possibility that the mRNA shots may not have been a great idea. ..but we stopped talking about that.

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