Experts are sounding the alarm as rates of 17 types of cancer in millennials and Gen X-ers have risen dramatically in recent years, a new study shows. For certain cancers, people born in 1990 face two-to-three times the risks that those born in 1955 did, according to the research published in the journal Lancet Public Health. The findings echo the recent worrying rise in young people developing colorectal cancer, but add more forms of the disease to the list of concerns.

It’s too soon to say what is driving the increase in what experts call “early onset” cancers, but they warn that it’s not just due to better screening; people are dying of these diseases at rates and ages not seen in their parents’ generations.

Here’s what to know about the generational risk of cancer and what you can do to reduce yours.

What did the new study find?

Researchers with the American Cancer Society (ACS) assessed rates of 34 different cancers among those born between 1920 and 1990, based on how many were diagnosed with or died of the disease from 2000 to 2019.

On average, the rates of 17 types of cancer, including pancreatic, breast and gastric cancer, have risen with each new generation since 1920, the study found. Previous ACS research had shown that rates of 11 cancers, including pancreatic, colorectal, kidney, uterine and testicular cancer, had been increasing among young adults. The new study added eight more types of cancer to that list:

Gastric cardia cancer (a cancer of the stomach lining)

Cancer of the small intestine

Estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer

Ovarian cancer

Liver and bile duct cancer

Non-HPV-associated oral and pharynx cancer (only in women)

Anal cancer (only in men)

Kaposi sarcoma (a cancer of the blood vessel lining and lymph nodes, only in men)

Rates doubled or even tripled for some of these cancers, including kidney, pancreatic and small intestine cancers, in people of either gender. For women, liver cancer incidence has increased two- to threefold since the 1920s. Even cancers that seemed to be in decline for baby boomers and other older generations — including some breast cancers and testicular cancer — are now a greater risk again to millennials and Gen X-ers, the study found.

Originally Posted By 1Yalething⏩

While the new study doesn’t answer why this is happening, Sung and other experts have a prime suspect in their sights: obesity.

Originally Posted By ScrillaIsBake⏩

Originally Posted By LargePeter⏩

Originally Posted By ScrillaIsBake⏩