Kate’s cancer diagnosis: Are more young people being diagnosed with cancer?

Last Friday, the world was stunned when Catherine, Prince William’s wife and Princess of Wales, made the announcement that she had been diagnosed with cancer and had begun her treatment, including preventative chemotherapy.

While the British royals didn’t reveal the type of cancer she has or what stage is her cancer in, what is known is that 42-year-old Kate, as she is popularly known, is not alone in her diagnosis. Worldwide, an increasing number of people under the age of 50 are developing cancers.

We take a closer look at the data and decode if this is indeed true and what could be the possible reasons for it.

Kate’s cancer diagnosis

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Amid Kategate — the chaos that erupted over the British princess’ absence since her abdominal surgery and the photo editing row — on Friday (22 March), she issued a statement in which she said that she has started chemotherapy for cancer and is in the “early stages of that treatment”.

A message from Catherine, The Princess of Wales pic.twitter.com/5LQT1qGarK

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) March 22, 2024

She added that she and her husband had been doing everything “we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family,” which included taking time to recover from her major surgery to start treatment and “most importantly” to explain everything to their three children before going public with the news. The children are now away from school on their Easter holiday break.

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Young celebs diagnosed with cancer

And the Princess of Wales isn’t alone. Earlier in March, Hollywood actor Olivia Munn, who is known for her role in the show Newsroom, revealed that she was diagnosed with breast cancer last year and had four surgeries in the last 10 months, including a double mastectomy. “I hope by sharing this it will help others find comfort, inspiration and support on their own journey,” the 43-year-old actor said in the post accompanied by photos of her in a hospital bed and with her doctors.

In March, Jessica Pettway, a beauty influencer whose hair tutorials built her an early YouTube following, died of cervical cancer at 36.

There was also the case of Black Panther star, Chadwick Boseman, who died in 2020 from colon cancer at the age of 43. In the following year, Virgil Abloh, the iconic fashion designer passed away at the age of 41 after suffering from cardiac angiosarcoma, a rare heart cancer.

Cancer rising among the young

Earlier, cancer was associated with those in their 50s, 60s or even among the older crowd. However, in recent years — the past three decades — cancer among those below the age of 50 has been occurring at a higher rate, especially in wealthy countries.

A paper published in BMJ Oncology revealed that cancer in people under the age of 50 has shot up a striking 79 per cent, while death among younger cancer patients rose 28 per cent. It further revealed that breast cancer accounted for the largest number of these, while windpipe and prostate cancers rose the fastest among younger patients over the 30-year period.

A separate analysis of US federal data by Business Insider showed that in the US, the rate of cancer diagnosed in those under the age of 40 has increased a significant 35.4 per cent from 1975 to 2019. And it is the same picture in the United Kingdom too. Data shows a 22 per cent increase in under-50s getting cancer since the early 1990s.

“We’re seeing more higher stage tumours and more aggressive tumours in younger people, much higher compared to older patients,” Shuji Ogino, an epidemiologist and cancer researcher at Harvard Medical School, was quoted as telling Business Insider.

Another study in JAMA Network Open found that, while cancer rates for older adults have dropped, during the period from 2010 to 2019, US diagnoses rose nearly 20 per cent just among people in their 30s.

And in India, too, the data reveals a terrifying picture. The Indian Council of Medical Research (IMCR) published a report in 2022 which stated that by 2025 the number of cases of cancer among both the genders in adolescent and young adult category will rise to 1,78,617.

Australia also revealed a similar picture. Data from 2021 showed a 10.5 per cent increase in cancer rates for Australians aged 25 to 49 between 1999 and 2019.

The research published in JAMA Network Open has also revealed that in 2019, there were more than one million deaths globally reported among early-onset cancer, up from 28 per cent in 1990.

The Cut has also reported that other research shows that uterine cancer is killing more women under the age of 50.

Factors contributing to rise in early-onset cancers

So, what’s driving the rise in early-onset cancers? Medical experts are still trying to understand why cancer is affecting more young people. According to them, there’s a vast variety of factors, including elements of our modern-day diets, lifestyles, and exposure to pollutants that could be the drivers behind the rise in cancers.

Professor Andrew Beggs of Birmingham University, who is also a consultant colorectal surgeon, is of the opinion that higher screening is one of the reasons for the rise in cancers. “There are a number of reasons for this rise. For one thing, we are simply getting better at spotting cancer at earlier and earlier stages. In addition, special awareness is involved. Young people are much more perceptive about their health than previous generations and so they are more willing to seek help at an early stage when their symptoms have first appeared,” he told The Observer.

This has also been echoed by Katherine Crew, an oncologist and associate professor of medicine and epidemiology at Columbia University Medical Center. She was quoted as telling katiecouric.com, “We’re offering more patients genetic testing, and when they test positive, are screening those people at a younger age. Women with BRCA-1 or BRCA-2 mutations might start breast MRI screening in their mid-20s or patients with Lynch syndrome might start colonoscopies earlier too,” Dr Crew said. “I think that’s part of what’s driving this.”

There are also factors such as modern-day diets, lifestyles, and exposure to pollutants which is driving up the cases of early-onset cancers. For instance, studies have shown that rising levels of obesity cause rising cancer rates.

Dr David Liska, a colorectal cancer surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic, told Business Insider that the proliferation of fast food, unhealthy diets, sedentary lifestyles, and poor sleep schedules also don’t help.

And maybe this is why data shows that gastrointestinal cancers are on the rise, followed by urinary cancers, female reproductive cancers and then breast cancers.

Toxins in our environment, such as micro plastics, could also be a contributing factor. These microscopic particles found everywhere — from food to clothing, could also be influencing the rise of cancers.

Joel Gabre, a gastroenterologist and assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Centre, said he is seeing a greater number of younger adults with colon cancer — many who do not test positive for a genetic predisposition for the disease. “We think it’s certainly environmental,” Gabre told The Washington Post.

In this situation, doctors stress that people younger than 50 should feel empowered to visit a doctor if they experience symptoms such as unusual bleeding, unwanted weight gain or nausea. As Dr Peter Liang, a gastroenterologist and assistant professor at NYU, told katiecouric.com, “We have to do more right now and we need answers to be able to figure out how to protect future generations.”

With inputs from agencies