Although the overall rate of new cancer cases has remained steady in recent years, a closer look at the data reveals areas of concern.

 

Cancer diagnoses among people younger than 50 (referred to as early-onset cancers) are increasing. Fourteen types of cancer are on the rise among young adults when compared with 2010 rates, according to an analysis from the National Institutes of Health that looked at 33 different cancers. The researchers write that nine of these cancer types also increased in at least one older age group. These included breast cancer in females and colorectal, kidney, testicular, uterine, pancreatic and three types of blood cancer (lymphomas). Cancer types that increased only in younger age groups were melanoma, cervical cancer, stomach cancer, cancer of bones and joints, and plasma cell neoplasms. Similarly, a Dana-Farber Cancer Institute report noted a 14.8% spike in early-onset gastrointestinal cancers, which include colorectal, stomach, pancreatic and other cancers.

 

People with obesity are at higher risk of developing 13 types of cancer. A new study presented at ENDO 2025, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting, showed that over the past two decades, obesity-related cancer deaths tripled. Mortality rates climbed from 3.7 deaths per million to 13.5 deaths per million, with significant increases among women, older adults, Native Americans, Black Americans and rural residents.