Cancer cases in under 50's

[eighthobstruction]

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/sep/05/cancer-cases-in-under-50s-worldwide-up-nearly-80-in-three-decades-study-finds

<<<"The number of under-50s worldwide being diagnosed with cancer has risen by nearly 80% in three decades, according to the largest study of its kind.
Global cases of early onset cancer increased from 1.82 million in 1990 to 3.26 million in 2019, while cancer deaths of adults in their 40s, 30s or younger grew by 27%. More than a million under-50s a year are now dying of cancer, the research reveals.">>>

[duncan]

Global population increased by ~50% over the same period which accounts for much of the increase.

The article does not mention what has happened to deaths due to infectious disease, violence, and other traditional causes of death in the young. The former decreased by 40% over the same period.

The numbers are not quite as worrying as might first meet the eye.

source:

[smittims]

Thanks, Duncan , for that balancing view. I often feel that sensational headlines fail to tell the full story. For instance, I'm sure many people died from cancer in the 20th-century simply because they were living long enough to show symptoms; in earlier centuries , simply, people died earlier.

In the same way, (apologies to eighthobstruction if this is digressing) I felt that the media's obsession with posting the daily deaths from covid in 2020 as a news-grabbling headline wouldn't have looked so sensational if they put them in context with deaths from heart disease, lung cancer and road accidents.

[eighthobstruction]

Yes, thanks Duncan....

[mikealdren]

What is sad is that once serious and sensible newspapers now use the sort of sensationalist headlines (and often writing style) that used to be the preserve of the Red Tops.

[RichardB]

Global population increased by ~50% over the same period which accounts for much of the increase.

The article does not mention what has happened to deaths due to infectious disease, violence, and other traditional causes of death in the young. The former decreased by 40% over the same period.

Quite so. This is the kind of clickbait you'd associate with the Daily M*** rather than a media outlet with any integrity. Oh, I see that Mike has already said the same thing.

Anyway, having left my 50s behind I guess I'm safe now.

[Bryn]

Quite so. This is the kind of clickbait you'd associate with the Daily M*** rather than a media outlet with any integrity. Oh, I see that Mike has already said the same thing.

Anyway, having left my 50s behind I guess I'm safe now.

Once you get to 75, you will be even better off. In the UK, some tests for cancer are no longer offered once you reach that age. This must surely be because the risk of cancer recedes with age, e.g. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/bowel-cancer-screening/.

[alywin]

What is sad is that once serious and sensible newspapers now use the sort of sensationalist headlines (and often writing style) that used to be the preserve of the Red Tops.

So very true. I commented some years ago that some of the Daily Telegraph's headlines sounded as though they were written by a sulky teenager.

[mikealdren]

Once you get to 75, you will be even better off. In the UK, some tests for cancer are no longer offered once you reach that age. This must surely be because the risk of cancer recedes with age, e.g. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/bowel-cancer-screening/.

Would that it were. Dad died of bowel cancer age 89. I've no idea why the screening stops at 75.

[JasonPalmer]

I recently had a cancer scare where my dentist found a white blob in my mouth and referred me to a cancer unit, they found it was no longer there and was peobably just a calcium build up which the mouth ejects after sometime. I stopped dreaming of lottery wins and just wanted to see my son grow up. Cancer is scary eh

[Bryn]

Would that it were. Dad died of bowel cancer age 89. I've no idea why the screening stops at 75.

Quite! Maybe the government simply considers those over 75 as, to some extent, expendable.

[Old Grumpy]

[

Maybe the government simply considers those over 75 as, to some extent, expendable

This may answer some of the questions raised:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bowel-cancer-screening-benefits-and-risks/nhs-bowel-cancer-screening-helping-you-decide

It includes this statement: "If you're 75 or over, you can ask for a kit every 2 years by phoning the free bowel cancer screening helpline on 0800 707 60 60."

Elsewhere a web search as to why screening stops at 74 suggests that the risks of adverse complications of screening colonoscopy outweigh the benefits in this age group.

[Bryn]

[

This may answer some of the questions raised:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bowel-cancer-screening-benefits-and-risks/nhs-bowel-cancer-screening-helping-you-decide

It includes this statement: "If you're 75 or over, you can ask for a kit every 2 years by phoning the free bowel cancer screening helpline on 0800 707 60 60."

Elsewhere a web search as to why screening stops at 74 suggests that the risks of adverse complications of screening colonoscopy outweigh the benefits in this age group.

Two points arise. Firstly, how many over the age of 74 will be aware of the option to order a test? By no means all will read beyond the instructions on how to carry out the sampling, especially after previous tests as they age, Secondly, the section in the item linked to reads:

Risks


Bowel cancer screening might:

• cause complications, for example, during or after colonoscopy
• miss a cancer if it was not bleeding when you used the FIT kit

It is important to be aware of the symptoms of bowel cancer even if you have screening. No screening test is 100% effective. If you do not need further tests after using the FIT kit this does not guarantee that you do not have bowel cancer, or that it will never develop in the future.



No screening test is completely effective. In bowel cancer screening this is because:

• a polyp or cancer can sometimes be missed if it was not bleeding when the screening test was taken (a ‘false negative’ result)
• bowel cancer may develop in between screening tests

It is clear that the risks are associated with either the further investigation, if blood is found, or a failure of the initial test to detect blood due to the timing of the test. Not carrying out a test in the first place, surely carries rather higher risks, in both cases.

[Serial_Apologist]

Two points arise. Firstly, how many over the age of 74 will be aware of the option to order a test? By no means all will read beyond the instructions on how to carry out the sampling, especially after previous tests as they age, Secondly, the section in the item linked to reads:



It is clear that the risks are associated with either the further investigation, if blood is found, or a failure of the initial test to detect blood due to the timing of the test. Not carrying out a test in the first place, surely carries rather higher risks, in both cases.