Cancer is increasing in young people, but remains rare

February 21, 2024

Cumulative change in cancer rate by age

Source: Abbott, WSJ Jan 11, 2024 LINK

A Wall Street Journal article last month showed large increases in cancer diagnoses among those under 40. Cancer is terrible at any age, and cancer can cause many more years of lost life in those who are young. But a few words of caution are in order in interpreting this data.

Cancer is very rare in young adults, and remains very rare even when there is a large increase. For instance, there will be about two new cases of cancer diagnosed in adults ages 30-34 in a year, while there will be 12 new cases diagnosed in adults ages 60-64. Here’s a graphic that shows cancer incidence by age:

Source: National Cancer Institute, data is from 2013-2017  LINK

We should continue to be vigilant about warning signs of cancer for people of all ages, and the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF)  started recommending colon cancer screening beginning at age 45 in 2021. The USPSTF is expected to lower the age of initial recommended every-other-year mammography to age 40 later this year.

Implications for employers:

• The Affordable Care Act requires that USPSTF preventive care recommendations are covered without cost sharing

• Although cancer diagnoses have increased in younger adults, these cancers remain rare.

• Employers should be aware that cancer screening tests of any type performed on populations at lower risk, such as younger adults, are likely to have many false positives.

Thanks for reading.  You can find previous posts in the Employer Coverage archive

Please “like” and suggest this newsletter to friends and colleagues. Thanks!

Tomorrow: Bariatric surgery leads to better health and decrease in some cancers