- Scientists predict that cancer deaths will drop in the United Kingdom and Europe in 2024, with some notable exceptions.
- They expect deaths from colorectal cancer in young adults ages 25 to 49 to surge by up to 39%.
- While it’s unclear why colorectal cancer deaths among young adults is on the rise, factors such as alcohol consumption and obesity are believed to be contributors.
New predictions of cancer deaths in the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU) indicate that although overall deaths from the disease are dropping, more young adults are dying from colorectal cancer.
At first glance, the research published this weekend in the Annals of Oncology, bears some encouraging news about cancer.
Scientists predict that total deaths from cancer in the UK and the EU will drop in 2024 compared to 2018 — 6% for men and 4% for women.
However, the reality is more somber when looking into specific types of cancer.
Deaths from pancreatic cancer, for example, are predicted to increase in the EU in 2024, slightly among both men (1%) and women (4%). The rates are expected to dip slightly in the UK.
The scientists say the most worrisome trend is deaths from colorectal cancer in young adults.
While overall deaths from colorectal cancer will decline, age-specific deaths tell a different story. In the UK, colorectal cancer deaths among men aged 25 to 49 are predicted to surge by 26%. Among women in the same age group, that number climbs to nearly 39%.
Dr. Cindy Kin, an associate professor of surgery at Stanford Medicine in California who was not involved in the research, told Medical News Today that the predictions “reflect what we as surgeons and doctors treating patients with colorectal cancer are seeing in the U.S. as well. We have all seen patients with colorectal cancer who are shockingly young — people in their 30s and 40s —…
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