The rise of early-onset cancer: A medical mystery that needs more attention

Rising cancer rates in young adults should be the focus of further US federal studies rather than chasing after links between vaccines and autism.

- Daniela Lamas

When I started working in the intensive care unit of a cancer hospital, I didn't know what to make of the horror stories of patients in their 30s and 40s. There was a young father with colon cancer. A recent college graduate with an aggressive malignancy that had destroyed her jaw and airway. An aspiring journalist with breast cancer that had spread to her lungs.

Late at night, I'd suddenly feel suspicious of every random stomach pain or twinge in my shoulder. I told myself that those patients were not the norm. I was in my 30s, and the overwhelming likelihood was that I was safe.

That is still true, although perhaps youth is less protective than I thought. The rates of what is termed early-onset cancer—cancer diagnosed in those under 50—are rising. While the overall numbers remain relatively small, these cancers tend to be aggressive. The average person reading the headlines about this may wonder how worried to be and what, if anything, they can do to diminish their risk.

These questions come at a precarious time for science. There is a troubling possibility that the amount and quality of American research will decline over the next four years. But it seems early-onset cancer is an arena in which the interests of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. align with scientific priorities. After all, this is about chronic illness that may be at least somewhat linked to consumption of ultra-processed foods and an unhealthy lifestyle. If Mr. Kennedy truly wants to make America healthy again, perhaps he should forgo pointless investigations into whether vaccines cause autism, and focus here instead.