Multiple Studies Link Accelerated Biological Aging to Rising Early-Onset Cancer in Younger Generations
Two studies published in Nature Medicine and Military Medical Research link accelerated biological aging in younger generations to rising rates of early-onset cancers. Researchers found that people born in more recent decades show larger gaps between their chronological and biological ages, with stronger risks for lung, gastrointestinal, and uterine cancers. A separate global analysis identified six cancers now rising faster in younger adults than older populations.
Two major studies published in peer-reviewed journals have found that younger generations are aging biologically faster than their predecessors, and this accelerated aging is linked to rising rates of early-onset cancers. Separately, a global analysis has identified six cancers now increasing faster in younger adults than in older populations.
A study published June 22 in the journal Nature Medicine found that younger adults with older-than-expected biological ages are more likely to develop early-onset lung, gastrointestinal, and uterine cancers. The research, led by investigators at Washington University School of Medicine, analyzed data from more than 154,000 adults in the UK Biobank and more than 10,000 individuals in the U.S. National Institutes of Health's All of Us Research Program.
To measure biological aging, the researchers used established aging clocks, including PhenoAge, which evaluates nine blood biochemistry markers such as albumin and creatinine, and the Klemera-Doubal Method. They examined both systemic aging across the body as a whole and organ-specific aging within individual organs, using blood proteomic data to estimate biological aging in specific organ systems.
The analysis revealed a concerning pattern: UK Biobank participants born between 1965 and 1974 had systemic aging levels about 0.23 standard deviations higher than those born between 1950 and 1954 at the same chronological ages. A more pronounced pattern emerged in the All of Us cohort, where people born between 1990 and 1999 had age gaps about 0.92 standard deviations higher than those born between 1965 and 1969.
The researchers found that participants with higher age gaps were more likely to develop early-onset solid cancers. The link was strongest for lung, gastrointestinal, and uterine cancers. The study also identified organ-specific connections: an immune system that appeared older than its actual age was associated with early-onset lung cancer, while fat tissue that appeared older than its chronological age was associated with early-onset colorectal cancer.
"Our ultimate goal is to decode how modern environments become biologically embedded to drive cancer risk, transforming prevention from broad recommendations to personalized interventions," said the study's lead researcher, a molecular epidemiologist and associate professor at WashU Medicine.
A separate global study published in the journal Military Medical Research analyzed cancer data from 2000 to 2017 and found 13 cancers on the rise in adults under 50 in at least 10 countries. Six cancers — colorectal, cervical, pancreatic, prostate, kidney, and multiple myeloma — were rising faster in younger adults than in older adults in at least five countries.
Colorectal cancer drew particular attention, with 10 percent of global cases already occurring in those under 50. Estimates project that by 2030, colorectal cancer incidence in those ages 20 to 34 will rise by 90 percent, and in those ages 35 to 49, by 46 percent. Two types — colorectal and uterine — were becoming both more common and more deadly among younger adults in multiple nations.
The study's senior author, a pathology instructor at Harvard Medical School and epidemiology associate at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, noted that "exposures like obesity or Western diet or sedentary lifestyle might be shifted toward younger populations." The increase in cancer among younger adults was strongly tied to rising rates of obesity and was climbing most rapidly in wealthy nations.
In response to these trends, screening guidelines have been adjusted in several countries. In the U.S., the Preventive Services Task Force lowered the recommended age to begin screening for colorectal cancer from 50 to 45 in 2021, and in 2024 lowered the recommended age for breast cancer screening from 50 to 40.
The researchers noted that for some cancers, including thyroid, prostate, and non-melanoma skin cancers, there was no increase in mortality despite rising incidence, suggesting improved screening is detecting more cases early enough that they are treatable. However, a 2023 paper cited in the Nature Medicine study suggested early-onset cancer diagnoses rose by 25 percent globally between 1990 and 2019.