Risk of cancer… What age groups are most at risk?
A cancer diagnosis can be one of the most traumatic events that can occur in a person’s life, but the different forms of cancer depend largely on age.
According to a report published by the British newspaper The Telegraph, research conducted by Cancer Research in Britain shows that a third of cancer cases are diagnosed in people over the age of 75 years. The research indicated that the type of cancer that affects people in old age tends to affect different organs and has completely different underlying causes, compared to those that affect young people.
“People who carry a certain genetic mutation tend to develop cancer earlier in life,” says Dr. Carla Perna, a clinical oncologist at the University of Surrey in Britain. She adds: “While cancers that affect people over the age of 75 are linked to cell aging, and the cumulative effect of lifestyle-related damage over a lifetime.”
Oncologists explain that the specific cell types in which cancer develops can also vary greatly with age. To give an example, Dr. Stephen Ansell, deputy director of the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center in Minnesota, says that childhood cancers often tend to affect cell types that are still developing, such as stem cells.
Childhood cancers often tend to affect stem cells (Archives – Reuters)
However, in old age, one of the most common forms of cancer is adenocarcinoma, which develops in the cells in the glands that line the organs. “That’s a broad generalization,” Ansell says. Cancerous tumors occur because the glands become increasingly stimulated over time and age, and this makes them vulnerable to risks that occur during cell division that lead to cancer.
So how does the risk of developing different cancers change with age? Let’s take a look at three different stages of life.
25-49 years
When you’re young, you tend to assume you might live forever, but research shows that more young people are getting cancer. According to Cancer Research UK, cancer rates in young people rose by 22 per cent between the early 1990s and 2018.
Among young men, prostate cancer is one of the most prominent types of cancer, as the average age of an individual when it appears is only 33 years. “The best way to detect it early is through monthly self-examination,” says Dr Saif Ahmed, academic consultant in oncology at the University of Cambridge. He adds: “These tumors are usually not completely round, so you will feel a solid, irregularly shaped mass. “But anyone who feels any kind of lump should go and see their doctor.”
Head, neck, and cervical cancers in women are also among the most common forms in this age group, due to a strong association with sexually transmitted strains of human papillomavirus (HPV).
These strains cause cell damage in the throat and cervix, which can eventually lead to cancer.
Regular cervical screening and getting the HPV vaccine in early adolescence are the best forms of prevention, Ahmed says.
Women under 40 who develop breast cancer are more likely to develop a particularly aggressive form of the disease known as triple-negative breast cancer. This is strongly linked to an inherited mutation in the BRCA1 gene.
“If there is a family history of breast cancer, women should start checking for lumps between the ages of 25 or 30,” Perna says. She continued: “If you notice anything worrisome, there is no need to perform a mammogram. “For a young woman, a simple ultrasound scan is enough to detect any problems.”
Bowel cancer rates are also rising among young people for unknown reasons, although possible risk factors include a high intake of processed meat, alcohol, and high rates of obesity.
Medical examination to detect bowel cancer (archives – Reuters)
In 2020, the US National Cancer Institute listed bowel cancer as the deadliest form of cancer among men under the age of 50, as well as the third deadliest form of cancer among women in the same age group.
Melanoma is also one of the most common types of cancer diagnosed in young people, especially women.
“If you have a new mole or something appears on your skin, I would recommend getting it checked out,” Ansel says.
50-74 years
Both men and women experience major hormonal shifts during midlife, which may lead to susceptibility to various types of cancer. Women who begin menopause late, after age 55, are at a significantly higher risk of endometrial, ovarian and breast cancer because they are exposed to more estrogen, which causes increased cell production, a risk factor for cancer.
Likewise, overweight postmenopausal women in their 50s and 60s are at greater risk of developing these cancers because the body can derive estrogen from body fat. Overweight men in this age group are also more likely to develop aggressive prostate cancer, as the excess layers of fat around the prostate serve as a source of nutrients for cancer cell growth.
Researchers at Imperial College London estimated that if a 55-64 year old man in the UK lowered his BMI to the ideal range of 18.5 to 24.9, there would be 1,300 fewer prostate cancer deaths per year.
Ahmed explains that there are a range of tests available for men and women in this age group, ranging from mammograms to the CA125 blood test for ovarian cancer.
Perna says: “There is no national screening program in Britain for prostate cancer, so we say that any man should get a PSA test from his GP from the age of 50 and over, and 45 if he has any known risk factors such as family history or Ethnicity”.
Research from Cancer Research Britain indicates that lung cancer has become more common during middle age, as it constitutes 12 percent of cancer cases in men aged between 50 and 74 years and 13 percent of cases in women within this age group.
Lung cancer becomes more common during middle age (Archives – Reuters)
The Royal Marsden Hospital recommends that all people over the age of 50 who either currently smoke or have quit smoking within the past 15 years have an annual low-dose CT scan to screen for lung cancer.
Since June 2023, the NHS has been rolling out Targeted Lung Health Screening (TLHC), a national scheme that identifies people aged 55-74 who are most at risk of developing the disease.
“You can only detect large tumors with these scans, and you can’t really detect small tumors,” Perna says. “So not smoking is still the best method of prevention.”
75 years and over
While a diagnosis of cancer in general becomes more common with age, this does not apply to all forms of the disease. Oncologists say that cancers that develop after the age of 75 tend to be largely linked to accumulated DNA damage over a lifetime, sometimes as a result of poor lifestyle habits.
Bladder and prostate diagnoses are very common in men, while breast cancer still makes up 21 percent of cancer diagnoses in women over the age of 75. Lung and bowel cancer also remain highly prevalent.
“In the case of lung cancer, if you’re a smoker, you’ve been inhaling a lot of carcinogens on a regular basis,” Ansel says.
Not smoking is still the best way to prevent lung cancer (Archives – Reuters)
He adds: “In the case of bladder cancer, there could be different substances you urinate in, which can cause long-term irritation of the bladder lining, putting you at risk. “We have a lot to learn about bowel cancer, but dietary habits over a lifetime may ultimately make a difference.”
Ansel notes that anyone with a history of bowel cancer in their family should consider having a colonoscopy to check their colon health. Various tests are also available for bladder cancer, a disease that is three to four times more likely to develop in men than in women, for reasons that are still unknown.
Anyone concerned because of a family history or worrying symptoms such as blood in the urine can have a test called flexible cystoscopy, which involves a local anesthetic and the insertion of a thin tube through the urethra to examine the lining of the bladder.
One of the few advantages of getting older is that if you are diagnosed with any form of cancer, it is likely to be less aggressive. Perna points out that one of the reasons the NHS breast screening program stops at age 70 is so that any woman diagnosed with breast cancer at this age is less likely to develop aggressive cancer.
2024-02-26 19:00:05
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