Cancer affects more young women

The shifts reflect declines in smoking-related cancers and prostate cancer among older men and an alarming rise in cancer among people born since the 1950s.

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, but the leading cause among Americans under 85. The new report estimates that about 2,041,910 new cases will occur this year and that 618,120 Americans will die from the disease.

Six of the 10 most common cancers are on the rise, including breast and uterine cancer. Colon cancer among people under the age of 65 is also increasing, as well as prostate cancer, melanoma and pancreatic cancer.

“These adverse trends are biased against women,” said Rebecca L. Siegel, the report’s first author. “Of all the cancers that are increasing, some are increasing in men, but it’s skewed — more of this increase is happening in women.”

Women are also being diagnosed at younger ages. Cancer rates are increasing among women under the age of 50 (so-called early-onset cancer), as well as among women 50 to 64 years of age.

Despite increases in some early-onset cancers, such as colon and testicular cancer, “overall rates are flat in men under 50 and declining in those 50 to 64,” Siegel said.

Several other worrying trends are outlined in the report. One is an increase in new cases of cervical cancer among women aged 30 to 44.

The incidence of cervical cancer has declined since the mid-1970s, when screening to detect precancerous changes became widely available. But recent studies have shown that many women are postponing visits to their gynecologists for screening.

Another disturbing trend started in 2021, when the incidence of lung cancer in women under 65 exceeded the incidence in men for the first time.

Breast cancer rates have also increased, increasing by about 1% per year between 2012 and 2021. The sharpest increase has been seen in women under 50.

Death rates are also increasing for liver cancer among women and for cancer of the oral cavity for both sexes.

Pancreatic cancer has been increasing in incidence among both men and women for decades. It is now the third leading cause of cancer death.

This article originally appeared in New York Times.