• Posted August 1, 2024

Why Are Cancer Rates Rising Among Gen X, Millennials?

Cancer rates are rising among Gen Xers and millennials, a new study reports.

Successively younger generations are more frequently being diagnosed half of the 34 known cancer types, researchers found.

For example, people born in 1990 have two to three times higher rates of pancreatic, kidney and small intestinal cancer than people born in 1955, results show.

“These findings add to growing evidence of increased cancer risk in post-Baby Boomer generations, expanding on previous findings of early-onset colorectal cancer and a few obesity-associated cancers to encompass a broader range of cancer types,” said lead researcher Hyuna Sung, a senior principal scientist of surveillance and health equity science at the American Cancer Society.

For the study, researchers analyzed cancer data from 23.6 million patients diagnosed between 2000 and 2019. The analysis also included data on 7.3 million patients who died of cancer.

Researchers broke the data down into five-year birth intervals from 1920 to 1990, and analyzed how cancer risk changed between birth cohorts.

Incidence rates increased with each successive birth cohort since 1920 for 17 of 34 cancers, researchers found.

Other cancers that have increased in younger generations include liver, breast, uterine, colorectal, gastric, gallbladder, ovarian, testicular and anal cancers, as well as Kaposi sarcoma, results show.

“The increase in cancer rates among this younger group of people indicate generational shifts in cancer risk and often serve as an early indicator of future cancer burden in the country,” said senior researcher Dr. Ahmedin Jemal, senior vice president of surveillance and health equity science at the American Cancer Society.

Cancer death rates increased in successively younger generations for liver, uterine, gallbladder, testicular and colorectal cancer, results show.

Unfortunately, Sung said there’s no clear explanation for why these rates are rising among younger generations.

“The data highlights the critical need to identify and address underlying risk factors in Gen X and Millennial populations to inform prevention strategies,” Jemal said.

The results, published July 31 in the Lancet Public Health journal, also highlight the need for comprehensive health care among middle-aged and younger Americans, said Lisa Lacasse, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN).

"The increasing cancer burden among younger generations underscores the importance of ensuring people of all ages have access to affordable, comprehensive health insurance, a key factor in cancer outcomes," Lacasse said in cancer society news release.

"To that end, ACS CAN will continue our longstanding work to urge lawmakers to expand Medicaid in states that have yet to do so, as well as continue to advocate for making permanent the enhanced Affordable Care Act tax subsidies that have opened the door to access to care for millions,” Lacasse added.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on cancer risk factors.

SOURCE: American Cancer Society, news release, July 31, 2024