A global increase in the number of cases of cancer discovered in younger patients was first documented in the 1990s, and this trend has continued unabated. The researchers mentioned breast, colon, esophageal, kidney, liver, and pancreatic cancers as examples of those with an earlier beginning.

Alcohol use, sleep deprivation, smoking, obesity, and a diet heavy in processed foods were all cited as potential risk factors for developing cancer at a young age. They found that adults' sleep patterns have remained relatively stable over the last several decades, but children's sleep habits have deteriorated significantly.

Relationship Between Risky Behaviours and Cancer

After reviewing the research, they concluded that there might be decades between the onset of cellular damage and cancer diagnosis in the clinic.

Furthermore, they said that the growing trend of westernized foods, lifestyles, and settings is correlated with the rising trend of early-onset cancer.

They pointed out that these shifts, which began in the middle of the 20th century, may have altered the occurrence of early-onset cancer beginning in the 1990s since their effects would have had time to aggregate.

There is some evidence that the following are contributors to an increased risk of cancer:

• A Western diet is heavy in saturated fats, red meat, processed meat, sugar, and ultra-processed foods while low in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fibre.
• Declining breastfeeding rates and rising use of infant formula
• Rising rates of alcohol consumption
• Personal smoking history, as well as exposure to tobacco smoke when pregnant or at other times throughout pregnancy
• Lack of sleep in kids because of night-time illumination problems
• Working the night shift raises your chances of cancer-causing conditions, including being overweight or diabetic.
• Alterations to reproductive patterns include the later onset of menarche, fewer births, later ages of first and last birth, and greater prevalence of oral contraceptive usage.
• Inactivity and a sedentary way of life

Eight of the 14 malignancies examined were associated with the digestive system, the study's authors said, further supporting the role of the mouth and intestinal microbiota in cancer risk. Nutrition, healthy habits, and increased physical activity were three focus areas.

The National Institutes of Health maintain a reputable database on the link between antibiotic usage, microbiome disruption, and cancer.

Inflammation, Gut Microbes, and Food

Diet, gut, and inflammation were the three most often cited reasons for premature illness.

Evidence is emerging that a poor diet, especially one heavy in processed meat and fat and low in fruits and vegetables, might cause colorectal cancer to develop at an earlier age.

Several studies of cancer have also revealed that being overweight or obese is associated with an increased risk of developing colorectal cancer in its early stages. Dr Nathan Berger of Case Comprehensive Cancer Center used EHR data to find that 51% of young persons with colorectal cancer were overweight, and 17% were obese.

The study found that people have been increasingly opting for unhealthy diets in recent decades. The prevalence of obesity among both youth and adults is rising.

Meanwhile, the average American is becoming less active and more sedentary. However, it is still being determined whether this is due to a correlation between decreased physical activity and increased body fat.

The gut microbiome, or the community of bacteria in the digestive tract, has recently attracted the attention of other researchers. Some bacteria may influence the efficacy of cancer therapies and have been linked to the development and spread of colorectal cancer.

Cynthia Sears, M.D., a specialist in infectious illness from Johns Hopkins University, revealed that in lab experiments, toxins from numerous species of bacteria that are commonly prevalent in the human stomach caused cancer in the intestines of mice.

It should be no surprise that the food and chemicals we ingest, inhale, and exhale affect the bacteria in our intestines. A person's gut flora may shift in composition and quantity due to lifestyle choices like food and exercise and the use of certain medications (like antibiotics).

Unhealthy eating habits can indirectly affect the bacteria in one's intestines. Both may trigger inflammation, the body's natural response to danger. When the animals were fed a high-fat diet, inflammation and increased tumour development in the intestines were seen in mouse research.

Pollutants in Nature

Researchers are also looking at environmental causes of cancer that may have a role in developing colorectal cancer at an early age. Pollution of the air and water, contamination of the land and the food supply, and the usage of pesticides all fall under this category.

According to NIEHS Director Rick Woychik, PhD, who also directs the National Toxicology Program, 18 substances have been found that cause cancer in the intestines of mice or rats. Some of these substances may cause DNA damage, resulting in dangerous mutations in cells lining the digestive tract and reproductive organs.

Barbara Cohn, PhD, M.P.H., of the Public Health Institute, noted that other substances might have more indirect impacts. She said some ambient chemical mixes (endocrine disruptors and obesogens) might cause metabolic disruption and obesity. Dr Cohn noted that even though some of those chemicals have been outlawed, their usage in past decades might have impacts later in life for those born at the time.

In Conclusion

Over the last several decades, there has been a dramatic shift in the early life exposome, which includes a person's food, lifestyle, weight, environmental exposures, and microbiota. They speculated that the westernized food and lifestyle could be causing the cancer pandemic to strike so young. The group noted that cancer screening programs reduce mortality from several cancers.

The researchers could not determine the share of this rising incidence due to screening and early detection. But they also pointed out that improved screening alone is probably not responsible for a rise in several of the 14 types of cancer.