Are chemicals causing cancer in young people? Evidence explains

Cancer is traditionally known as a disease affecting mostly older people.

- SARAH DIEPSTRATEN JOHN (EDDIE) LA MARCA

But some worrying trends show cancer rates in younger people aged under 50 are on the rise.

Why does cancer mostly affect older people?

Each cell in your body contains a copy of your DNA – the instructions needed to keep that cell functioning properly. However, DNA can be damaged or ‘mutated’ in such a way that a cell will no longer do the job it’s supposed to.

Some mutations will allow a cell to make too many copies of itself and grow out of control. Others can protect it from dying. And others still allow it to move around and travel to other organs where it doesn’t belong.

Accumulating too many of these DNA mutations can lead to cancer.

Every time a new cell is made in our body, a copy of our DNA is made too. Sometimes, due to random chance, mistakes occur which introduce genetic mutations.

Think of it like making a photocopy of a photocopy, and so on. Each copy will be slightly different from the original.

Most DNA mutations are harmless.

But your cells are making billions of new copies of themselves each day. So the older you get, the more DNA copies you will have made during your lifetime, and the more likely you are to have dangerous mistakes in those copies.

As we get older, our bodies aren’t as good at recognising and removing cells with dangerous mutations. That’s why cancer is much more common in older people.

What’s causing cancer in younger people?