US Edition
Prostate cancer is no longer a disease of just the over 50s, a landmark study has shown.
Researchers found that prostate cancer cases among people under 50 had risen threefold between 1990 and 2019 - the second sharpest rise of any cancer, behind only windpipe cancer.
The study by the University of Edinburgh and the Zhejiang University School of Medicine, China, and published in BMJ Oncology, found the overall number of cancer cases in under 50s had risen 79 per cent since 1990.
They analysed data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019, which revealed the overall number of cancer cases had risen from 1.82 million in 1990 to 3.26 million in 2019.
Prostate cancer cases increased from 7,830 to 22,580 over the 30 years at a rate of 2.23 per cent each year, the study says. The number surviving has improved from less than one in four to around one in seven, it also revealed.
The NHS does not offer national screening for prostate cancer because it “has not been proved that the benefits would outweigh the risks”.
Men aged 50 and over are able to get their prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels tested by their GP, which can provide an indication if further tests are needed.
Doctors from the Centre for Public Health, Queen’s University Belfast, said the findings “challenge perceptions of the type of cancer diagnosed in younger age groups”.
‘Global surge in early-onset cancers’
Nasopharyngeal, or windpipe, cancer cases increased the most globally for under 50s, from 25,238 to 67,915 at a rate of 2.28 per cent each year
The researchers said the rise in early on-set cases across all cancers was likely down to factors beyond just genetics, including obesity, alcohol consumption and diets high in meat and salt but low in fruit and milk, as well as a lack of exercise and high blood sugar.
Breast cancer remained the most common cancer in under 50s, doubling from 260,000 cancers in 1990 to 537,000 in 2019.
However, early-onset liver cancer cases and deaths fell by more than any other cancer.
Deaths were also up over the same period, although by a smaller proportion, rising by 27.7 per cent to just over one million during 2019.
The regions with the highest rates of early-onset cancers were North America, Australasia and Western Europe.
Professor Montserrat García-Closas of The Institute of Cancer Research, London, said the study “seeks to address important questions on global surge in early-onset cancers” but looking at absolute figures did not account for the increasing population size.
Dr Ashleigh Hamilton from Queen’s University Belfast, said: “Prevention and early detection measures are urgently required along with identifying optimal treatment strategies for early-onset cancers, which should include a holistic approach addressing the unique supportive care needs of younger patients.”
‘Alarming’ findings
It comes as Cancer Research UK said advances in UK cancer care had helped save 1.2 million lives since the mid-1980s.
The charity estimated that 560,000 lung cancer deaths had been avoided, as well as 236,000 deaths from stomach cancer, 224,000 bowel cancer deaths and 17,000 from breast cancer.
Dr Claire Knight, senior health information manager at Cancer Research UK, said cancer remained “primarily a disease of older age” despite the “alarming” findings.
“It’s not fully clear what is driving the rise in early-onset cancers, but exposure to risk factors in earlier life, better detection of cancer and genetics might all play a part,” she said.
“If people are concerned about their cancer risk, there are lots of ways to help reduce this, such as not smoking, maintaining a balanced diet, getting plenty of exercise and staying safe in the sun.”