This article discusses the alarming increase in cancer cases among women under 50 in both the UK and the US, highlighting a significant gender gap in cancer incidence. It explores potential contributing factors, such as changes in lifestyle, screening practices, and hormonal fluctuations, while emphasizing the need for further research and awareness regarding early-onset cancer.
British women under 50 are around 70 percent more likely to develop cancer than men of a similar age, worrying data has revealed. A similar pattern has emerged in the US, with women under 50 now 82 percent higher than men of the same age — compared to a difference of 51 percent two decades ago. The gender discrepancy comes amid a soaring rise in disease among young people on both sides of the Atlantic, with global cases of cancer in the under 50s rising by 79 percent since the 1990s.
In the UK, cases of some forms like breast and bowel cancer in some younger age groups have risen by 17 percent and 63 percent respectively. Now, American experts have explored the trend and suggested why the gender difference may exist. One reason is the falling rates of some cancers that affect men. These include cases of melanoma, the blood cancer non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and prostate cancer. Simultaneously, cases of cancers that affect women have risen in younger women, experts from the American Cancer Society, explain in the journal CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. Working-age women are now more nearly twice as likely to get cancer than men, a worrying new report reveals after rises in breast and thyroid cancers Almost half of all cancer cases that affect young women aged under 50 are now breast or thyroid. Breast cancer in young, UK women has risen by 17 percent since the 90s, while thyroid cancer — which affects the tiny butterfly-shaped gland in the neck — has soared 256 percent. The researchers added that changes in cancer screening practises could also have led to increased diagnoses in younger women. Data from Cancer Research UK (CRUK) suggests the cancer risk gap for men and women under 50 in Britain peaks in the early 40s. Cancer rates for women this age reach almost 270 cases per 100,000 women, more than double the figure for men of the same age (130 cases per 100,000 men). Experts say the exact cause driving the increase in breast cancer is unknown but suggest several factors could be involved. One theory is increased exposure to lifestyle factors like smoking and drinking compared to historical levels. While only one in 10 women are now smokers, rates were as high as one in four in the 90s, which could have contributed to diagnoses a decade or two later. Consistent, regular drinking can lead to a build-up of a cancer-causing chemical in the body called acetaldehyde which can drive up the risk of some types of breast cancer. The rise of 'wine-o-clock' culture has also been blamed for increased alcohol consumption in women with some studies showing binge drinking has increased 57 percent among British women since 2019. Obesity is another known risk factor for breast cancer as fat cells can produce oestrogen and higher levels of this female sex hormone are linked to the development of breast cancer. Government data shows the proportion of women in England who are obese nearly doubled between 1993 and 2019 — from 16 percent to 29 percent. And estimated eight percent of breast cancer cases in England are thought to be caused by obesity with an additional eight percent suspected to be caused by drinking alcohol. Cases of thyroid cancer have undergone an even greater explosion in Britain with rates in women aged 25 to 49 rising 256 percent in the same period. While diagnoses in men of the same age have also risen, far more women suffer the disease than men. About 3,000 cases of thyroid cancer are recorded in British women each year, compared to just 1,000 cases diagnosed in men. Experts are still trying to unpick the reasons why women are more vulnerable, but some suspect the fluctuations in female sex hormones that occur during a woman's life are involved. CRUK also said women under 50 have seen significant increases in cancers of the small intestine (119 percent) and the kidney (96 percent) since the 90s. However, they added that as the overall number of cases of these cancers, including thyroid, diagnosed each year is low, such increases should be interpreted with caution. Overall cancer risk is known to broadly increase with age as damage in cells, which can spark the disease, accumulate over time. However, an explosion in what is called early onset cancer, medically defined as cases of the disease in adults under the age of 50, has sparked alarm among experts. Part of the concern is that it's happening globally. A 2023 study published in the British Medical Journal found cases of early onset of cancer increased overall globally by 79 percent between 1990 and 2019. The experts also predicted cases of cancer in the young are set to rise further, by an additional 31 percent by 2030. World Health Organisation data shows Australia had the highest number of early-onset cancer diagnoses in the world, with a rate of 135 per 100,000 people in 202
Cancer Women's Health Early-Onset Cancer Cancer Rates Gender Gap Breast Cancer Thyroid Cancer
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