Cancer is rising in younger adults. Faster biological aging may help explain why
Cancer rates are rising in adults under 55, and new research suggests accelerated biological aging may be one piece of the puzzle. Scientists found that people from more recent generations tended to have bodies that appeared biologically older than those of earlier generations at the same chronological age. Greater biological age acceleration was linked to a higher risk of early onset cancers,…
Cancer cases are on the rise among younger adults, with some researchers suggesting that faster biological aging in these individuals may explain the trend. A study by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found evidence that younger generations may be aging more rapidly than previous generations at comparable ages.
The team discovered that younger people had larger gaps between their biological age and chronological age, indicating their bodies appeared biologically older than expected. This generational shift in biological aging could help explain the increase in cancer diagnoses among younger adults. The researchers also found that accelerated aging was associated with a higher risk of early-onset cancers, which are diagnosed at age 55 or younger.
For example, an older-appearing immune system was linked to early-onset lung cancer, while older-looking fat tissue was associated with early-onset colorectal cancer. The study, published in Nature Medicine, suggests that measuring accelerated aging could help doctors identify younger people at unusually high cancer risk, potentially allowing for earlier prevention or screening.
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