Cancer is showing an alarming new trend in the United States.
Published today is Latest report The American Cancer Society (ACS) report highlights worrying cancer demographic trends, with women and young people bearing the greater brunt of cancer, even as overall cancer deaths continue to decline. The changes that need to be made are made clear.
For example, cancer incidence among women between the ages of 50 and 64 now exceeds that of men. Even more alarming, women under 50 are now 82% more likely to be diagnosed with cancer than men, up from 51% in 2002.
Research shows that this change may be partly due to the rise in breast and thyroid cancers, which now account for nearly half of all cancers in people under 50 and primarily affect women. It is said that there is
At the same time, diagnoses of common cancers such as melanoma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and prostate cancer are decreasing among men under 50.
So what’s causing this alarming trend? Dr. Richard BarakatLeading physicians at Northwell Health Cancer Institute say lifestyle changes are likely the main factor.
Let’s take breast cancer as an example. American women are have a baby later — or not at all — it could mean they’re missing out. Protection benefits Pregnancy and breastfeeding protect against breast cancer, Dr. Barakat told the Post.
In addition, excessive alcohol consumption, a major modifiable risk factor for breast cancer, Increasingly popular among American women. Barakat said this change may also be contributing to the increase.
The ACS report follows a sharp warning about the link between alcohol and cancer from U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, who called for warning labels on alcoholic beverages similar to those on cigarette packs. was announced.
Lung cancer is another area where women currently outnumber men in younger age groups.
Although lung cancer diagnoses decreased overall from 2012 to 2021, women under 65 outnumbered men in new cases for the first time.
“I think women started smoking later than men and probably quit a little later,” Barakat said. Since 1965, the smoking rate among women has been fell It decreased by about 59% compared to 66% for men.
The increase in cervical cancer is also alarming.
After decades of decline, thanks in part to the HPV vaccine, the number of cervical cancer diagnoses among women aged 30 to 44 increased by 11% from 2013 to 2021.
Dr. Barakat suggested that rising hesitancy to vaccination, with some women skipping vaccinations, could be a contributing factor.
“Another strange phenomenon we’re seeing is that women are putting off going to the gynecologist,” Barakat says. That means they are likely to miss out on important tests such as pap smears starting at age 21.
“Cervical cancer is a disease that could probably be eradicated if everyone who should be vaccinated was vaccinated and screening guidelines were followed,” Barakat said.
The obesity crisis in the United States may be another contributing factor, especially when it comes to gender and age differences in cancer diagnoses.
Federal data shows that women are more likely to be obese than men (40% vs. 35%), and younger people are more likely to be obese. overweight or obese compared to our parents and grandparents.
“Fifty percent of all cancers are lifestyle-related,” Barakat says. “If you change your behavior, you can reduce your exposure to many risks.”
Apart from lifestyle factors, changes in screening guidelines may also explain the increased incidence of certain cancers, especially among younger people. For example, last year, Recommended age The mammography rating was lowered from 50 to 40.
“We’re finding a lot of early-stage breast cancers that might not have existed in the past,” Barakat says. “We’re also detecting a lot more very early stage thyroid cancer.”
This is likely due to improvements in imaging technology and widespread use of diagnostic tools, he said, allowing doctors to find small, slow-growing tumors that were previously overlooked.
While overall cancer survival rates are on the rise, with national death rates dropping by 34% from 1991 to 2022, some cancers are bucking the trend. Mortality rates for oral cancer, pancreatic cancer, endometrial cancer, and liver cancer are increasing.
“It is certainly great news that cancer mortality rates continue to decline due to reduced smoking, improved treatments and early detection,” he said. Rebecca Siegelsenior scientific director for surveillance research at ACS and lead author of the report.
“However, this progress is being held back by rising incidence rates among young and middle-aged women, who are often family caregivers, and by a shift in the burden of cancer from men to women. “It reminds me of the early 1900s, when it was common for women to do this,” she said.
The ACS estimates that in 2025, there will be 2,041,910 new cases of cancer diagnosed in the United States (approximately 5,600 per day) and 618,120 deaths from cancer.
