- José Carlos Cueto
- BBC News World
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5 hours
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It has happened to a lot of us. We heard that an acquaintance under the age of 40 was found to have cancer and had to be operated on and underwent harsh treatments.
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And we’re probably wondering why it’s happening to that person at such a young age.
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They may not be as common as in adults over 60, but people between the ages of 15 and 39 are not without risk and can even develop cancer.
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Indeed, believing that this disease is “something for older people” can cause a late diagnosis and an irreversible prognosis.
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“We are far from having the appropriate level of public awareness and knowledge about cancer in young adults,” Daniel Stark, leader of the UK’s Oncology Unit for Adolescents and Young Adults, warns BBC Mundo.
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But what are the most common cancers in this age group? Is there any way to prevent them?
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The most common cancers in young adults
According to several specialists and public health organizations consulted by BBC Mundo, some of tumors the cancer groups most common between 15 and 39 years of age in the world are:
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- Brain tumors
- breast cancer
- Cervical cancer
- Carcinomas: especially in the digestive system
- Cancer of the genitals (testicles and ovaries)
- Thyroid Cancer
- lymphomas
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Since many major morphological changes occur between the ages of 15 and 39, the incidence of these cancers varies considerably by age.
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“For example, between 29 and 39, the carcinomas they are much more common than at a young age, “Dr. Annalisa Trama, a specialist at the National Cancer Institute of Milan in Italy, explains to BBC Mundo.
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“In the younger age groups, the leukemias, lymphomas, nervous system tumors, sarcomas and genital tumors they are more common, “says Trama.
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The incidence of cancers also varies by gender. Women are more likely to develop cancer of the breast, thyroid, cervix and ovaries.
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“While the most common diagnoses in men are lymphomas, testicular cancer, leukemia and thyroid,” says the specialist.
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image source, BSIP
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Since adolescents and young adults are less likely to develop cancer, there is a risk of late diagnosis which can later affect their prognosis for recovery.
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In the case of leukemia, it is a tumor with a higher incidence in adolescents.
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“It’s a disease that becomes less common after 8-10 years of age,” says Stark.
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Which are the most dangerous?
According to Professor Stark, the cancers that pose the greatest challenge for adolescents and young adults are brain tumors and carcinomas, especially those located in the digestive tract.
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“Brain tumors are a challenge because the options for treatment and the prognosis for recovery are extremely poor,” says the specialist.
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image source, Getty Images
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According to expert Daniel Stark, brain tumors have barely changed their epidemiology in recent years.
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According to the British National Health Service (NHS), brain tumors can manifest with headaches, seizures, dizziness, recurrent nausea, memory problems, personality changes, progressive weakness and paralysis in one part of the body, and poor vision or of sight.
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In the case of digestive cancers, the challenge is that they are still “an evolving area in cancer epidemiology.”
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“We are seeing a rapid increase in cancers in this area in young adults over the past 10-15 years. It’s a disease we rarely see, but it’s far from unusual now,” says Stark.
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According to the American Cancer Society, symptoms of tumors in the digestive system They can include loss of appetite, unexpected weight loss, abdominal pain and discomfort, a feeling of fullness in the stomach after a light meal, heartburn, nausea, vomiting, bloating, blood in the stool, and anemia.
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The organization clarifies that these symptoms are also common to other diseases, but if they persist, a doctor should be consulted to clarify the causes.
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Why are cancers at these ages such a challenge?
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Although the chances of developing cancer in adolescents and young adults are lower than in older age, this population group has some characteristics that maximize risk when it comes to treatment and identification.
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For example, being an age in which many physiological changes occur, cancer epidemiology includes pediatric and adult cancers.
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“This group also has a specific tumor biology and genomics, which differs from children and the elderly. Furthermore, due to the difference in age, the pharmacology is different, as well as the potential impact of the efficacy of the therapy,” explains Dr. . Plot .
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Added to this is the insufficient awareness that cancer is a possibility in this age group. A phenomenon that occurs both in patients and their families and in healthcare personnel.
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“It’s a group that has also had limited involvement in clinical research and a difficult access to specialist caresays Plot.
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To some extent, it’s because, up until the last few decades, much cancer research has focused on childhood cancers or the older population, according to Ronald Barr, emeritus professor of pediatrics at McMaster, Canada, told BBC Mundo. University of Hamilton.
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“An adult develops cancer an average age of 65 years. If you think about it, those under 40 who develop it are a relatively small percentage and end up in limbo who are not young enough or old enough to be treated by oncologists used to treating people over 60, ”says Barr.
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And although more efforts have been made in recent years to tackle this problem, specialists consulted by BBC Mundo point out that there is still a lot of work to be done.
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The dilemma between overdiagnosis and underdiagnosis
Finding a balance between the problem of overdiagnosis and underdiagnosis is one of the biggest medical challenges when dealing with cancer in adolescents and young adults.
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On the one hand, there is a substantial percentage of young people with cancers that are never diagnosed.
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“Most live in low- and middle-income countries (in regions like South America, Africa and Southeast Asia), which sadly is where the most people live, “says Barr.
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It is estimated that in regions such as South America, Southeast Asia and Africa there are many cases of cancer in young patients that are never properly diagnosed, making it difficult to have a true dimension of the problem.
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“Many patients in these regions may never show up at the hospital or present themselves too ill to have a specific diagnosis,” adds Stark.
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For reasons like these, experts warn of the difficulty of establishing more concrete data on a global scale on a more precise incidence of tumors at an early age.
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However, overdiagnosis has also become a challenge that makes both statistics and medical solutions difficult.
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This is happening, for example, with the thyroid cancer. In countries like the United States, thyroid cancers are diagnosed by ultrasound examinations.
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Stark complains that many times these tests are carried out in inexperienced conditions and without a real need to perform them. This results in a distorted picture of the true extent of thyroid cancer, with many confirmed diagnoses in cases where there was no real risk of it getting worse.
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“There are tumors or cancerous states that, even if they grow, may never cause problems. Overdiagnosis can treat one of these tumors as if it were a disease that requires more aggressive management,” says Stark.
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This results in some patients ending up with a lot of radioactive material, a major operation, or toxic drugs when they just needed to be monitored, evaluated and treated when the problem became a concern.
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image source, Getty Images
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A balanced and healthy diet can reduce the chances of developing digestive cancer.
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Can cancer be prevented at these ages?
Dr. Trama lists some cancers that have been linked to unhealthy lifestyles and conditions such as obesity: digestive tract carcinomas, thyroid or ovarian cancer.
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That is, they could be preventable by following public recommendations such as those of the World Cancer Research Forum (WCRF).
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Some of these guidelines include:
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- maintain adequate weight
- be physically active
- maintain a better diet, rich in a variety of whole grains, vegetables, fruits and legumes
- avoid high calorie foods
- limit the consumption of red and processed meats, alcohol and sugary drinks
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Experts like Stark also ask for more knowledge and awareness to be more prepared.
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“We need young people to know the symptoms of what cancer can be. We need them to know that they can develop it too, and we need doctors who take young people who come to cancer consultations more seriously, rather than assuming that because they are this age they cannot develop cancer, ”Stark says.
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