Mystery explosion of tumors in young people: Rates of gastrointestinal cancers more than DOUBLED in children under 19 in past decade, data shows

There has been a mysterious explosion of cancers in young people in the last decade, another study warns.

Gastrointestinal cancer diagnoses in Americans under the age of 50 increased dramatically over a decade, with the largest increase occurring in those under the age of 19, at 109 percent.

And the number of gastrointestinal cancers among children under the age of 19 more than doubled between 2010 and 2019, and the overall incidence of gastrointestinal cancers among those under the age of 50 increased by 15 percent.

Gastrointestinal cancers include those of the stomach, esophagus, colon and rectum, liver, pancreas, anus, gallbladder, and small intestine.

Cancer is generally considered a disease of the elderly, but the latest analysis shows that all types of early-onset cancers, described as those affecting patients under the age of 50, increased by about one percent between 2010 and 2010. and 2019.

Gastrointestinal cancer rates increased 15 percent between 2010 and 2019, the largest increase in that span. There were more cases of breast cancer than any other type of cancer.

Cancers of the stomach, esophagus, colon and rectum, liver, pancreas, anus, gallbladder and small intestine increased 15 percent in all age groups.

With rates of obesity, environmental pollution, and the adoption of a diet rich in processed foods on the rise, incidences of cancer,

The study authors said: “The increase in early-onset cancers is likely associated with the increasing incidence of obesity, as well as changes in environmental exposures such as smoke and gasoline, sleep patterns, activity physics, the microbiota and transient exposure to carcinogenic substances”. compounds.’

The exact causes of the increases, particularly among younger people, are hard to pin down, and scientists are still trying to figure it out.

Gastrointestinal cancers are often the result of certain genetic mutations passed down through the generations that increase a person’s susceptibility.

But lifestyle habits are also important contributors.

A diet high in red meat and processed foods that are high in sugar and unhealthy fats can lead to chronic inflammation in the body, which stimulates cell damage and cancer cell growth.

Obesity is also an important risk factor, since adipose tissue releases hormones that promote the development of various forms of cancer, including those of the gastrointestinal tract.

And certain environmental exposures to toxins such as radon, asbestos, certain chemicals in consumer products, and air pollution have been linked to gastrointestinal cancers.

The fact that ultra-processed foods are essentially toxic in large quantities is nothing new.

What’s new, though, is that food manufacturers are infusing their products with more potentially poisonous chemicals and additives than ever before.

To measure rising cancer rates, the researchers relied on data from 17 National Cancer Institute surveillance, epidemiology, and end-results registries from January 2010 through December 31, 2019.

Rising rates of early-onset gastrointestinal cancers, particularly among younger Americans, are consistent with emerging evidence suggesting that cases of colorectal cancer, a type of gastrointestinal cancer of the large intestine and rectum, will double by the next end of the century. decade.

The individual subseries of gastrointestinal cancers that saw the most notable increases between 2010 and 2019, according to federal data, included the appendix, followed by cancers of the bile ducts and pancreas.

Data from 562,145 patients with early-onset cancers were included in the analysis.

In 2010, 107 people out of 100,000 under the age of 19 had some type of early-onset GI cancer. That number shot up 109 percent in 2019 to 224 cases.

And in adults ages 20 to 29, there were 306 cases per capita in 2010. That rose to 485 in 2019, an increase of 58 percent. People ages 30 to 39 saw a 44 percent increase from 1,184 cases per capita in 2010 to 1,710 cases per capita in 2019.

Adults ages 40 to 49 saw the smallest increase of 2.7 percent from the 2010 count of 4,834 cases to 4,964 in 2019.

The most notable increase in case rates was in appendix cancer with around 251 percent (from 185 cases in 2010 to 651 in 2019). Stomach and bowel cancers each increased by about 10 percent.

Stomach cancers specifically increased from 705 cases per capita in 2010 to 773 in 2019. Small intestine cancers increased from 261 cases per capita in 2010 to 286 in 2019.

Colorectal cancers specifically increased by nearly 12 percent, from 3,661 to 4,097 per capita, across the board.

Colon and rectal cancers are currently the third most common type in the US and the third leading cause of death in both men and women.

The same data shows that rectal cancer will increase by 124 percent in the younger age group.

JAMA Surgery data showed colon cancer is expected to increase by 90% in people ages 20-34

When broken down by age, youth 19 and under accounted for the largest increase during that time period of about 33 percent, from 12 cases per capita to 16.

This was followed by those aged 30 to 39 who saw an increase of just under 33 percent from 699 cases per capita to 927.

Colon and rectal cancers are showing an alarming rise, particularly in the young, with rectal cancer rates in people aged 20 to 34 expected to rise more than 124 percent by 2030, while the colon cancer rates will have risen to 90 percent by then.

The increase in appendix cancer in all age groups was even more dramatic. People 19 and younger saw an 890 percent increase (from 11 cases per capita in 2010 to 109 in 2019).

Those ages 20 to 29 saw the second-highest increase in that time span, 535 percent, from 26 cases per capita to 165.

Young people also saw significant increases in rates of pancreatic cancer, which tends to have a higher mortality rate than many other types of cancer.

People 19 and younger saw a 300 percent increase from 2010 (when there was a rate of six cases per capita) to 2019, when there were 24 cases per capita.

Meanwhile, those aged 20 to 29 saw a 120 percent increase (from 20 cases per capita to 44).

The researchers who wrote the study published in JAMA Open Network From the National University of Singapore.