Recently, we’ve seen an influx of reports highlighting a steady rise in the incidence of early-onset cancer diagnoses. These cases of cancer, diagnosed in individuals younger than 50 years, have brought about new concerns for oncologists and patients.
With this emerging change in patient populations, any information we can gather on generational risks for developing cancer has significant potential to help design more efficacious treatment and prevention strategies. To address this knowledge gap, a team of researchers conducted an observational study using patient data from databases in the United Kingdom (UK Biobank) and the United States (All of Us Research Program). The results of the study, recently published in Nature Communications, show a link between accelerated aging and early-onset malignancy.
First, the researchers evaluated data from 154,169 young adults from the UK Biobank using PhenoAge, an algorithm that estimates biological age based on nine clinical biomarkers measured in the blood. A biological age that exceeds an individual’s chronological age indicates systemic ageing that could significantly impact overall health. The researchers assessed generational changes in biological age to find that the gap between biological and chronological age increased across birth cohorts.
The increase in the age gap observed between those born from 1965 to 1974 compared to those born from 1950 to 1954 was associated with early-onset cancer risk. Particularly, solid tumors impacting the lung, gastrointestinal tract, and uterus drove the increases observed in early-onset cancers.
To validate these findings, the researchers assessed data from 10.262 patients enrolled in the All of Us Research Program. From this dataset, the researchers reported a link between early-onset lung cancer and markers suggesting aging of the immune system. Similarly, the study demonstrates an association between indicators of adipose tissue aging and early-onset colorectal cancer.
The study presents some novel observations that partially explain the recent increases in early-onset cancer incidence. The data suggest that greater gaps between biological and chronological age could promote risk of early-onset cancers.
Sources: Lancet Pub Health, Nat Commun
