11 cancers that are on the rise in kids, teens, and young adults

Hilary Brueck,Anna Medaris MillerSep 10, 2020, 19:41 IST

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Age is the most significant risk factor for cancer, and the median age for a cancer diagnosis is 66 years old.
While cancer in kids, teens, and young adults is pretty rare, there are at least 11 different forms of cancer that are on the rise in young people.
Doctors suspect that lifestyle factors like poor diets and extra body fat may play a key role in fueling some of these cancers, which include colon, kidney, and pancreas cases.

Make no mistake about it, age is still the number one risk factor for developing cancer. The median age for a cancer diagnosis in the US today is 66 years old. Usually, cancer hits older folks hardest, as cells age and sustain more cancer-causing DNA damage. But not always.

According to the American Cancer Society, fewer than 1 in 100 cancer cases diagnosed every year are in children. Likewise, in the UK fewer than 1% of all cancer cases occur in people under 24 years old.

And, thanks to advances in treatments, 84% of children with cancer now survive at least five years, a big difference than the five-year survival rate of 58% during the mid-1970s.

Still, cancer is the second leading cause of death in children ages 1 to 14, with instances of certain cancers are going up among kids, teens, and young adults. About 1,190 kids under age 15 are expected to die from cancer in 2020, according to ACS.

Doctors worry that these diseases could prompt even more health troubles as the youngsters age. Here's what oncologists have on their radar.

Childhood cancers are a far greater mystery to science than the kinds that adults get.

Taha Shakouri, an 8-year-old boy suffering from liver cancer, sits in his room at Mahak Children's Hospital in Tehran, Iran, June 19, 2019. AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi

Even though the fraction of cancer cases that kids get is tiny, there are certain diagnoses that are on the rise, even in babies.

Fernando Antonio/AP

Hepatoblastoma is a rare form of cancer that starts in the liver. It doesn't usually spread to other parts of the body.

Clowns entertain sick children at the cancer ward of Al-Rantisi Hospital in Gaza City on Sunday, June 2, 2019. AP Photo/Hatem Moussa

Kids with cancer who are successfully treated don’t emerge worry-free from future diseases, either. Childhood cancer survivors are at a heightened risk of developing health issues later in life, like heart disease.

Singer Francesca Battistelli (left) visits patients at the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. Phil Skinner/AP Images for Macy's

Kids with cancer who are successfully treated don’t emerge worry-free from future diseases, either. Childhood cancer survivors are at a heightened risk of developing health issues later in life, like heart disease.

Surviving a childhood cancer can also come with non-health related burdens.

Crystal Cox/Business Insider

Vaccinating kids helps prevent certain types of cancer.

Komsan Loonprom/Shutterstock

As with babies, teenage and young adult cancer cases are still pretty rare.

REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado

But some obesity-related cancer rates are soaring in young people, and doctors are worried it's a troubling sign of what's to come.

William Thomas Cain / Getty Images

Colon cancer rates are up sharply among young people, and cancer experts say poor diets may be to blame for some of those cases.

Eric Thayer/GettyImages

There's some evidence that eating more of certain foods, like turmeric, could help.

tarapong srichaiyos/Shutterstock

Dr. Iyengar says one of the easiest and most effective ways to be kind to your gut is to feed it plants like veggies and whole grains.

Ocean Robbins, the grandson of a Baskin-Robbins founder, never eats ice cream. He prefers the cancer-fighting properties of fruits and veggies. Ocean Robbins

Endometrial cancer is on the rise in Americans from 25 to 49 years old too.

Larissa Puro/Flickr

Gallbladder cancer cases are also on an uptick.

Delicious, but not good for you. Shutterstock

In the US, kidney cancers in people from ages 25 to 29 also shot up 6.2% (on average) every year in the period from 1995 to 2014.

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Pancreas cancers are up in the US, and some of the sharpest gains are in 25 to 29 year olds.

Daniel Becerril/Reuters

Multiple myeloma, a plasma cell cancer that affects the immune system, is another obesity-related disease that's becoming more prevalent in the US.

Edgar Su/Reuters

The risk of some of these obesity-related cancers to American millennials is twice what their parents (aka baby boomers) endured at the same age.

An Air New Zealand flight in the 1960s. Air New Zealand Archive

Breast cancer is rare in young women, and breast cancer rates are declining overall, but there are some early indications that it may be on the rise in younger generations, at least sometimes.

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Breast cancer is rare in young women, and breast cancer rates are declining overall, but there are some early indications that it may be on the rise in younger generations, at least sometimes.

“Although the absolute risk of these cancers is small in younger adults, these findings have important public health implications,” American Cancer Society cancer epidemiologist Ahmedin Jemal said when his study was released suggesting that obesity-related cancers are on the rise in young adults across the US.

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“Although the absolute risk of these cancers is small in younger adults, these findings have important public health implications,” American Cancer Society cancer epidemiologist Ahmedin Jemal said when his study was released suggesting that obesity-related cancers are on the rise in young adults across the US.

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11 cancers that are on the rise in kids, teens, and young adults

Childhood cancers are a far greater mystery to science than the kinds that adults get.

Even though the fraction of cancer cases that kids get is tiny, there are certain diagnoses that are on the rise, even in babies.

Hepatoblastoma is a rare form of cancer that starts in the liver. It doesn't usually spread to other parts of the body.

Kids with cancer who are successfully treated don’t emerge worry-free from future diseases, either. Childhood cancer survivors are at a heightened risk of developing health issues later in life, like heart disease.

Surviving a childhood cancer can also come with non-health related burdens.

Vaccinating kids helps prevent certain types of cancer.

As with babies, teenage and young adult cancer cases are still pretty rare.

But some obesity-related cancer rates are soaring in young people, and doctors are worried it's a troubling sign of what's to come.

Colon cancer rates are up sharply among young people, and cancer experts say poor diets may be to blame for some of those cases.

There's some evidence that eating more of certain foods, like turmeric, could help.

Dr. Iyengar says one of the easiest and most effective ways to be kind to your gut is to feed it plants like veggies and whole grains.

Endometrial cancer is on the rise in Americans from 25 to 49 years old too.

Gallbladder cancer cases are also on an uptick.

In the US, kidney cancers in people from ages 25 to 29 also shot up 6.2% (on average) every year in the period from 1995 to 2014.

Pancreas cancers are up in the US, and some of the sharpest gains are in 25 to 29 year olds.

Multiple myeloma, a plasma cell cancer that affects the immune system, is another obesity-related disease that's becoming more prevalent in the US.

The risk of some of these obesity-related cancers to American millennials is twice what their parents (aka baby boomers) endured at the same age.

Breast cancer is rare in young women, and breast cancer rates are declining overall, but there are some early indications that it may be on the rise in younger generations, at least sometimes.