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Cancers rising among under-50s in England, US and Netherlands, analysis finds

An analysis by World Cancer Research Fund International found significant increases in several cancers among people under 50 in England, the US and the Netherlands. The causes are not established, and cancer remains mainly a disease of older adults.

2 outlets · 0L · 2C · 0R First reported Account updated
Image: Anadolu Agency
Image: France 24

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The story, neutrally told

Centre · 1World Cancer Research Fund International published an analysis on Tuesday 6 October 2026 finding significant increases in seven cancers among people under 50 in England. Centre · 1It examined official cancer registry data for 12 cancer types in England from 2001 to 2023; the increases were in breast, colorectal, kidney, liver, pancreatic, prostate and uterine cancers. Centre · 1The sharpest proportional rise was in prostate cancer among men under 50: diagnoses went from 158 in 2001 to 640 in 2023, and the rate from 1 to 3.6 per 100,000 men. The disease remains rare in this age group.

Centre · 1Early-onset colorectal cancer rose from 3.8 to 8.3 per 100,000 women and from 4 to 8.4 per 100,000 men. Uterine cancer more than doubled, from 1.8 to 3.9 per 100,000 women. Kidney cancer rose from 1.2 to 2.3 per 100,000 women and from 1.9 to 3.6 among men. Centre · 1Breast cancer stayed the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women under 50, with its rate rising from 42 to 47.5 per 100,000; liver and pancreatic cancers rose by smaller amounts. Centre · 2US registry data showed significant increases in five cancer types (breast, colorectal, kidney, pancreatic and uterine), and Netherlands data in four (cervical, colorectal, kidney and liver).

Centre · 2The fund said the analysis showed trends but not their causes: "The short answer is we don't completely know yet." It said several interacting factors were probably at work. Centre · 2Possible contributors include obesity, physical inactivity and diet (red and processed meat, fast food, sugary drinks, low fibre). The fund said these probably explain only part of the pattern and are not proof that personal choices caused individual cases. Centre · 1Researchers are also investigating pollution, chemicals, plastics, antibiotic use and the gut microbiome. Better awareness and testing may account for some of the rise, but the fund said improved detection could not explain all of it, particularly for cancers with rising mortality.

Centre · 1Cancer remains mainly a disease of older adults, with median age at diagnosis above 60 in developed countries. The English figures use age-specific incidence rates, which do not account for shifts in age distribution within the under-50 population.

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Centre2 outlets

Framing
Anadolu gives a detailed, data-led account with caveats; France 24 runs a short summary stressing uncertainty over causes and lifestyle links.
Emphasis
Anadolu: figures, rarity of early-onset cancer, limits of the analysis. France 24: the rise and likely lifestyle links.
Leaves out or plays down
France 24 omits the figures, the caveats on detection and the point that cancer mainly affects older adults.
Charged language
“risen sharply”“quadrupled”
For example
“Prostate cancer cases among men under 50 quadrupled, while bowel, uterine and kidney cancer rates also rose sharply” — Anadolu Agency
“have risen sharply among young people in England, the United States, and the Netherlands” — France 24

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