Wall Street Journal Reports Doctors Are ‘Alarmed And Baffled’ As To Why Cancer Is Exploding Among Young Americans

Yesterday, January 11th, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published a full-story article titled, “Cancer Is Striking More Young People, and Doctors Are Alarmed and Baffled.”

The WSJ wrote (excerpts):

Cancer is hitting more young people in the U.S. and around the globe, baffling doctors. Diagnosis rates in the U.S. rose in 2019 to 107.8 cases per 100,000 people under 50, up 12.8% from 95.6 in 2000, federal data show. A study in BMJ Oncology last year reported a sharp global rise in cancers in people under 50, with the highest rates in North America, Australia and Western Europe.

Doctors are racing to figure out what is making them sick, and how to identify young people who are at high risk. They suspect that changes in the way we live—less physical activity, more ultra-processed foods, new toxins—have raised the risk for younger generations.

“The patients are getting younger,” said Dr. Andrea Cercek, who co-directs a program for early-onset gastrointestinal cancer patients at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, where Keen was treated. “It’s likely some environmental change, whether it’s something in our food, our medications or something we have not yet identified.”

Although cancer still strikes older people far more often than the young, the rise in early-onset cancers threatens to stall progress. One in five new colorectal cancer patients in 2019 was under 55, a near doubling since 1995. These younger patients are often diagnosed at late stages. Colorectal cancer death rates among patients over 65 are going down, but for those under 50 they are going up.

Researchers are scrutinizing possible causes ranging from inactive lifestyles to microplastics. Oncologists have found a greater risk of developing colorectal cancer at a young age among women who spent a lot of time sitting in front of the TV. Drinking sugary drinks in high school correlated with higher risk, too. Even being born via caesarean section seemed to link another group of women with higher risk of getting colorectal cancer early.

Deep-fried and highly processed foods have been implicated in other studies of early onset colorectal cancer, while diets with fiber, fruits and vegetables likely lower risks. Cancers including colorectal, breast and pancreatic have been tied to obesity, and studies support a link between excess weight and some early onset cancers.

But doctors said obesity and lifestyle can’t fully account for the plight of the people arriving at their clinics…