A global surge in early-onset cancer cases, especially gastrointestinal cancers in adults under 50, has alarmed the medical community and spurred an international $25 million research effort to uncover causes and solutions.
In short:
- An international team is investigating the spike in cancers among adults younger than 50, focusing on lifestyle and environmental risk factors.
- The research, combining surveys and animal studies, aims to understand the mechanisms driving these cancers, potentially influencing future screenings and treatments.
- This rise in early-onset cancers challenges previous understandings of risk factors, implicating diets, environmental toxics, and possibly microplastics and sleep patterns.
Key quote:
“We’ve been observing this for more than 10 years. The trend is continuing and increasing and being observed now in other cancers beyond colorectal.”
— John Marshall, director of the Ruesch Center for the Cure of Gastrointestinal Cancers at Georgetown University
Why this matters:
The increasing incidence of cancer in younger populations signifies a shift in the disease's demographics and highlights the need for a broader understanding of its causes, including lifestyle and environmental factors and more definitive studies on the carcinogenic potential of microplastics. Plastics plastics everywhere – and not at all good to eat.
