\n<\/p>\n
Some countries have lowered the recommended age for mammograms in response to rising rates of early-onset breast cancer.<\/span>Credit: Operation 2022\/Alamy<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/picture><\/figure>\n The question of what age cancer screening should start is getting louder, as increasing numbers of people under 50 are being diagnosed<\/a>, often well before they are eligible for routine testing.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is clearly something going on,\u201d says Yoanna Pumpalova, a medical oncologist who treats colorectal cancer at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York. \u201cI see it every day. I have way too many patients who are my age \u2014 I\u2019m 37 \u2014 or even younger, and it\u2019s horrible. It\u2019s more than it was five years ago; there\u2019s no question about it.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to colorectal cancer, there also seems to be an uptick in other types of malignancies, including those affecting the breasts, stomach, kidney and pancreas (see \u2018Starting early\u2019). A BMJ Oncology<\/i> study1<\/a><\/sup> published in 2023 estimated that the global incidence of cancer in people under 50 will increase by more than 30% between 2019 and 2030, the authors citing diet, alcohol consumption and tobacco use as potential risk factors.<\/p>\n