You probably think of cancer as something to worry about later in life, after 50 or 60. Most of us hear that the risk really climbs with age. New data from England pushes back on that comfortable picture.
A large analysis published in April 2026 in BMJ Oncology tracked cancer rates in England from 2001 to 2019. Of 22 cancer types followed in women, 16 rose significantly in those aged 20 to 49.
The pattern was similar in men. Of 21 cancer types followed in them, 11 climbed over the same stretch. In many cases the rise was steeper in the young than in older adults.
Bowel and ovarian cancer stood out. Both rose only in the younger group, with no matching increase in people over 50.
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The cancers climbing in younger adults include bowel, ovarian, endometrial, kidney, pancreatic, liver, gallbladder, thyroid, mouth, breast and multiple myeloma.
Obesity carries part of the rise but not most of it
The researchers also looked at what might be driving the climb. Excess body weight was linked to the largest share.
In 2019 it accounted for roughly 5 percent of ovarian cancers in younger adults. For endometrial cancer the share was closer to 37 percent. These are the two bookends across the cancers studied.
Yet obesity cannot fully explain the pattern. The team found that cancer rates were climbing in people with higher body-mass index and in those without. Something else is at play.
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Diet is another thread. More than 9 in 10 adults under 50 in England did not meet fiber recommendations in 2018. Fiber is linked to lower bowel cancer risk, and the shortfall has barely shifted over the decade.
Why the usual explanations fall short
Several familiar risk factors moved in the right direction over the study period. Red meat intake in younger men fell from 38 grams a day in 2008 to 17 grams in 2018. Yet cancer rates kept climbing.
The study authors concluded that behavioral risk factors other than body weight are unlikely to explain the rising numbers in younger adults at the population level.
They point to other possible contributors that still need investigation. Ultra-processed foods, childhood obesity, sedentary time, antibiotic use, sweetened drinks and air pollution all come up in the discussion.
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The analysis is based on national registry data, which maps patterns rather than proves cause.
The picture is not unique to England. In the United States, colorectal cancer was the fifth most common cancer death in people under 50 in the early 1990s. By 2023 it had become the leading cause of cancer death in that age group, according to the American Cancer Society.
That shift is part of why US guidelines moved colorectal cancer screening to start at 45, five years earlier than the long-standing age of 50.
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This article is made and published by Jesper Bengtson, who may have used AI in the preparation.