Despite fears of a rise in cancer cases among young people, at least one form of the disease appears to be declining among people under 50.
The number of fatal skin cancers among young people is falling rapidly, according to a new major study of 90,000 people.
It goes against a worrying trend of rising rates of some types of the disease, particularly breast, lung and bowel cancer. Over the past two decades, the number of Britons under 50 diagnosed with bowel cancer has risen by 24 per cent.
In the new study, experts from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden analyzed national data on the incidence of the most serious form of skin cancer, melanoma. Melanoma is mainly caused by excessive exposure to UV radiation from the sun, over time.
By tracking data from both men and women from 1990 to 2022, they found that cancer rates dropped significantly in people under 50 from 2015 onwards, especially in women.
A new Swedish study shows that skin cancer rates are falling among young people, a pattern also repeated in the UK
Strictly professional Amy Dowden was diagnosed with breast cancer, underwent a mastectomy and nearly died from sepsis
The biggest change occurred among 20- to 29-year-olds and 30- to 39-year-olds, where the number of cases of the disease fell by five percent.
At the end of the study, the melanoma rate had dropped to 18 cases per 100,000 women and 10 cases per 100,000 men, a decrease of 5.2 percent and 3 percent, respectively.
For women aged 20 to 29, the data showed a decrease of 5.2 percent to seven cases per 100,000, while the rate for men remained stable at three cases per 100,000.
The number of melanoma cases among 40- to 49-year-olds did not decrease dramatically, but the number did stabilize from 2015 onwards.
For those under 20, a demographic that includes children, the numbers did not change. However, the authors noted that cases were rare, with less than one case per 100,000 residents.
In contrast, the study was published in the journal JAMA Dermatologyfound that disease rates generally increased among people over 50 during the same period.
Dr Hildur Helgadottir, a cancer expert at Karolinska, said: ‘We see a trend break in young adults around 2015, with incidence curves going down.’
“This is the first time we see this in Sweden, and we are the first European country to report a decrease.”
Although the data cannot provide a direct reason for the high rates, Dr. Helgadottir and colleagues suggested that four factors could be at play.
First, there was the potential success of the national sun protection campaign, which urged people to take precautions such as wearing sunscreen on sunny days.
Another problem was the declining use of sunbeds in Sweden and the fact that young people are staying indoors more due to the increasing use of mobile phones and computers.
The final factor Dr. Helgadottir suggested was that immigration was bringing an influx of younger, darker-skinned people into Sweden who were more resistant to the sun.
She added that the results also showed that it is important to continue to emphasize sun protection in the hope of reducing the number of cases among older people.
Data from the charity Cancer Research UK (CRUK) also shows a slight decline in the number of melanomas among younger Britons in recent years.
The most recent data, from 2017-2019, shows that there are around 15 cases per 100,000 people among Britons aged 25-49.
This is a decrease from the peak of 16 cases per 100,000 people in this age group in 2014-2016.
A similar decline was also seen in people under 24, with a drop from 1.4 cases per 100,000 in 2004-2006 to just under one case per 100,000 in the most recent round of data.
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The risk of cancer generally increases with age, but young people, defined as people under 50, are not immune.
Although it is still generally rarer than in older groups, experts are concerned about an unexplained increase in cancer cases, such as colon cancer, among young adults.
CRUK data shows the incidence of the disease among younger Britons (aged 25-49) is now just over 162 cases per 100,000 people per year.
That is 22 percent higher than in the 1990s.
Experts say the increase cannot simply be dismissed as a result of better cancer detection methods.
By comparison, among people aged 75 and over, who account for around half of all cancer cases in the UK, the rate rose by only 9 per cent over the same period.
Cases in people under 50 are still statistically rare, accounting for just one in ten cases of the disease in the UK.
However, the speed at which the increase is taking place and the fact that scientists have so far been unable to find a cause has experts concerned.
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Actor Chadwick Boseman is one of the celebrities who has died of premature cancer. Medically, it is defined as a case of the disease that strikes someone under the age of 50. In the case of the Black Panther star, it was colon cancer.
Skin cancer symptoms range from mild to obvious, but experts warn that it’s crucial to treat cases early to prevent them from spreading or developing further.
Oncologist Dr Shivan Sivakumar from the University of Birmingham previously described the situation as an ‘epidemic’.
He said: ‘There is currently an epidemic of cancer in young people (under 50 years of age).
‘The cause of this is unknown, but we are seeing that more and more patients are developing abdominal cancer.’
A study published in the British medical journal Last year, it was found that the number of premature cancer cases worldwide increased by 79 percent between 1990 and 2019.
The experts also predicted that cancer cases among young people will continue to increase, by another 31 percent by 2030.
A number of famous people have been affected by early stage cancer.
Strictly Come Dancing pro Amy Dowden, 34, was diagnosed with breast cancer twice last year.
Black Panther actor Chadwick Boseman is also one of the victims who died of colon cancer at the age of 43.
Kate Middleton’s shocking cancer diagnosis earlier this year has also highlighted the alarming trend.
In the UK, approximately 17,500 cases of melanoma are diagnosed each year. The most common symptom is the development of a new mole or a change in an existing mole.
Melanoma is the fifth most common cancer in the UK and causes around 2,000 deaths each year.
Despite this, it is one of the cancers with the highest survival rates in the UK, with almost 9 out of 10 patients still alive 10 years after diagnosis.