Young cancer timebomb: Major study blames takeaway chemicals, school uniforms and frying pans for surge in under-50s diagnoses
Artificial ingredients in takeaway meals and ‘forever chemicals’ found in school uniforms and frying pansmay be helping drive a surge in deadly cancers among young people, a major new report warns.
British scientists also believe antibiotics could be part of the mystery behind a rise in 11 cancers among adults aged 20 to 49.
It adds to a growing global picture. In the US, early-onset cancer cases rose by almost 15 per cent between 2010 and 2019, with younger adults increasingly being diagnosed with diseases once seen mainly in older age.
The cancers include breast, bowel, thyroid, oral, endometrial, liver, kidney, gallbladder, pancreatic, womb and ovarian disease.
Many have long been tied to the global obesity crisis.
But experts from The Institute of Cancer Research and Imperial College London said weight gain alone cannot explain the sharp rise in younger adults.
Instead, they believe ultra-processed foods – known as UPFs – may be one cause. They added that PFAS – so-called ‘forever chemicals’ used in cookware, clothing and household products – could also be to blame.
Experts are now calling for urgent research into what is driving cancer in younger people – while warning policymakers must also tackle the obesity epidemic already fuelling many early-age cases.
