It was an announcement that had the effect of a bombshell, Princess Kate Middleton, just in her forties, announced in a video on March 22 that she had cancer. The example of the Princess of Wales illustrates an observation noted in a study, published in the journal Jama Open Network, last August, on an increase in the number of early-onset cancers in patients under 50 years old. The WHO estimates that we are heading towards an increase of 77% in 2050.
Researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine in Saint Louis, United States, therefore looked into the causes that could explain the appearance of early cancer. They discovered that the increase in biological age, indicative of a accelerated agingcould contribute to the development of early cancers. Their results are not published in a scientific journal, but are presented at the 2024 annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).
Early cancer: biological aging increases the risk
First of all, it is important to remember the difference between biological age and chronological age. If chronological age is calculated based on date of birth, biological age corresponds to the aging of the body. “Unlike chronological age, which measures a person’s lifespan, biological age refers to the state of a person’s body and physiological processes and is considered changeable,” explains in the press release, Ruiyi Tian of the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and lead author of the study, exposure to certain factors such as being sedentary or smoking can negatively affect it.
The researchers’ starting point is that chronological age could be higher among younger generations, which would mean that they age more quickly. This could contribute to the development of early-onset cancers, which appear before the age of 55. To study their theory, they examined data from 148,724 people registered in the database UK Biobank.
The participants’ biological age was calculated using nine biomarkers present in the blood. We can in particular list glucose (blood sugar level), C-reactive protein (which plays a role in inflammatory reactions), or even the number of white blood cells (which play a role in the fight against infections). The researchers specify that “individuals whose biological age was greater than their chronological age were defined as having accelerated aging”.
Accelerated aging increases the risk of early-onset lung cancer by 42%
Researchers found that people born in 1965 or later “had a 17% higher probability of accelerated aging than those born between 1950 and 1954”. Then, the researchers calculated the risk of developing early cancer based on biological aging. The authors then found that in people with accelerated aging, the risk of early lung cancer was increased by 42%. For early-onset uterine cancer and early-onset gastrointestinal cancer, the risk was increased by 36% and 22%, respectively.
“If validated, our results suggest that interventions aimed at slowing biological aging could provide a new avenue for cancer prevention, and that screening efforts tailored to younger people with signs of accelerated aging could help detect early stage cancers”, specifies Ruiyi Tian in the press release.
The authors, however, highlight some limitations to their study, such as being based on participants only from the United Kingdom.
Previous research from the American Heart Association estimated that following certain recommendations, such as following a healthy diet, being active, or quitting smoking, would reduce biological age.
Sources:
- Accelerated Aging May Increase the Risk of Early-onset Cancers in Younger Generations – American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
- Patterns in Cancer Incidence Among People Younger Than 50 Years in the US, 2010 to 2019 – Jama Open Network