Are people in the US getting cancer at a younger age?

e23321 Background: Advanced age is a well-known risk factor for the development of cancer. One-third of all cancer diagnoses occur in patients aged 75 or older 1 . In general, cancer incidence rates are very low in younger populations, with only 25 cases per 100,000 in those aged 20 years or younger and about 350 cases per 100,000 in those between the ages of 45 and 49 2 . However, in recent years, studies have started to show an uncharacteristic rise in cancer diagnoses amongst young people in the United States. Methods: The Ipsos Oncology monitor is an online, multi-center medical chart review of oncology patients receiving drug therapy. Over 2,200 cancer treating physicians in the United States were screened for seniority and caseload and submitted data on 385,912 cancer patients (aggregate; all tumour types) between January 2018 to December 2023. Data captured included tumor type, patient age, whether the patient was newly diagnosed, follow-up or relapsed patient status and the treatment they received. Results: Reported patient age across all cancer types remained stable over time, recording an average age of 64.19 years in 2023. However, shifts in prevalence amongst younger age groups were recorded in select tumor indications. Within reported newly diagnosed breast cancer patients, the proportion of those aged 55 years or younger shifted significantly from 23% in December 2018, to 27% in December 2023. Over this same period, a similar trend was recorded in reported newly diagnosed colorectal cancer patients, with the proportion of those 55 years or younger rising from 17% to 22%. In contrast, sampled newly diagnosed melanoma and prostate patients reported decreased diagnoses in the 55 or younger age group. Conclusions: This demonstrates that the oncology patient cohort in this study remains mostly stable in age overall. However, the declining age of diagnosis in both reported breast and colorectal cancer may merit concern. These results outline the importance of robust screening efforts and suggest performance of routine screening at an earlier age may be beneficial. In addition, expansion of clinical trials and other oncology research to younger patient populations may be needed. Further investigation using comparator cohort is warranted. Age and cancer (2023) Cancer Research UK. Available at: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/causes-of-cancer/age-and-cancer (Accessed: 31 January 2024). Risk factors: Age (no date) National Cancer Institute. Available at: https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/age (Accessed: 31 January 2024). Ugai, T. et al. (2022) ‘Is early-onset cancer an emerging global epidemic? current evidence and future implications’, Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, 19(10), pp. 656–673. doi:10.1038/s41571-022-00672-8.