11 Cancers Rising in Young Adults in England, Study Finds, With Obesity Only Partial Explanation

Key facts

• Researchers at the Institute of Cancer Research and Imperial College London analyzed cancer incidence between 2001 and 2019 in adults aged 20-49.
• 11 cancers identified as increasing: multiple myeloma, bowel, thyroid, liver, kidney, gallbladder, pancreatic, womb lining, mouth, breast, and ovarian.
• Bowel and breast cancers are the most common in younger adults, with a combined 11,500 cases a year.
• Obesity has risen steadily across adult age groups but does not fully explain the overall rise in cancer among younger adults.
• Colorectal and ovarian cancer showed rising rates only in younger adults, suggesting unique factors.
• Bradley Coombes, 23, died from bowel cancer after 18 months of symptoms being dismissed due to his age.
• Early-onset cancer rates and deaths could increase by more than 12% by 2050 without changes.
• Overall number of cancers in people aged 25-49 in the UK has risen by about a quarter since the early 1990s.

A Puzzling Rise Across Generations

For years, scientists have been puzzled by a steady increase in cancer diagnoses among people in their late teens, 20s, 30s, and 40s. A new analysis of English data now confirms that 11 distinct cancers are becoming more common in adults under 50, a trend that cuts across sexes and defies simple explanation. The study, conducted by researchers at the Institute of Cancer Research and Imperial College London, examined cancer incidence between 2001 and 2019. It found rising rates for multiple myeloma, bowel, thyroid, liver, kidney, gallbladder, pancreatic, womb lining, mouth, breast, and ovarian cancers in adults aged 20 to 49. Bowel and breast cancers alone account for about 11,500 cases each year in this age group.

The Human Cost: A Young Life Cut Short

Bradley Coombes, a 23-year-old from Portsmouth, was a fit and healthy young man on the verge of signing a semi-professional football contract when he began experiencing alarming symptoms. He lost weight, suffered abdominal pain, and developed diarrhoea and blood in his stools. Despite these classic 'red flag' signs of bowel cancer, he was repeatedly told he was too young for the disease. It took 18 months for doctors to perform a colonoscopy. By then, the tumour was so large it blocked the camera. Surgery and chemotherapy failed, and Bradley died with his dog Buster by his side. His mother, Caroline Mousdale, said: 'I really felt, like every parent, that he would have conquered his football dreams, he would have just had a fantastic life and that's been taken away from him, because early onset bowel cancer hadn't been identified.'

Obesity: A Suspect That Doesn't Fit Alone

The researchers evaluated well-known risk factors such as smoking, alcohol use, diet, physical activity, and body weight. They estimated that these factors account for a substantial share of some cancers, ranging from about 7% to 65% depending on the cancer type. However, most of these risks have not increased among younger adults in recent decades. Smoking rates have fallen, alcohol use has stabilised, physical inactivity has generally decreased, and consumption of red and processed meat has dropped. The one clear exception is obesity, which has risen steadily across all adult age groups and is now the second biggest preventable cause of cancer in the UK after smoking. Excess weight is linked to more than a dozen cancers, including bowel, breast (after menopause), womb, and kidney cancers. Crucially, obesity is starting earlier in life, meaning younger generations may have had longer exposure to the hormonal and inflammatory effects of excess body fat. Yet the researchers found that obesity alone does not explain the overall rise.

Two Cancers That Stand Apart

For most of the 11 cancers, rates also rose in older adults, where cancer remains far more common overall. This may point to shared risk factors across age groups, though the picture likely varies by cancer type. But two cancers stood out: colorectal and ovarian cancer showed rising rates only in younger adults, suggesting that unique factors may be affecting this age group. This pattern is not unique to England. International data shows that early-onset cancers have been increasing in many countries over the last few decades. Globally, the steepest rises in younger adults have been seen in cancers of the bowel, breast, uterus, kidney, and several digestive organs, as well as melanoma of the skin.

Better Detection or Real Increase?

One possible explanation is improved detection: tumours that might previously have been missed are now being picked up earlier. Earlier diagnosis is a positive development, but it cannot account for the entire trend. Some of the cancers rising in younger adults are being found at more advanced stages, indicating they are genuinely occurring more often rather than merely being detected earlier. Modelling studies suggest that without changes, early-onset cancer rates and deaths could increase by more than 12% by 2050. In the UK, the overall number of cancers in people aged roughly 25 to 49 has risen by about a quarter since the early 1990s, even after accounting for population growth.

What Remains Unknown

A full explanation for why cancer levels are increasing in younger adults remains elusive. The researchers stress that cancer in young people is still rare and that everyone can reduce their risk by living a healthy lifestyle. But the data makes clear that known risk factors, except obesity, have not been rising, and obesity alone is insufficient to explain the trend. Scientists are left with open questions about what else might be driving the increase. Potential factors under investigation include environmental exposures, changes in the microbiome, and other metabolic or hormonal shifts that may affect younger generations differently.

A Call for Vigilance and Adaptation

For a generation that expects to be building their lives, cancer is arriving unexpectedly early, and health services are only just beginning to adapt. The story of Bradley Coombes underscores the dangers of dismissing symptoms in young adults. His mother's words echo a broader warning: early onset bowel cancer was not identified in time. As researchers continue to search for answers, the immediate implication is clear: clinicians must remain alert to the possibility of cancer in younger patients, and public health efforts must address the rising burden of obesity while investigating other contributing factors. The trend is real, worrying, and still partly unexplained.

The bottom line

• 11 cancers are increasing in adults under 50 in England, with bowel and breast cancers most common.
• Obesity is a key contributor but does not fully explain the rise; other risk factors like smoking and alcohol have not increased.
• Colorectal and ovarian cancers are rising only in younger adults, suggesting unique causes.
• Early-onset cancer rates could rise by over 12% by 2050 without intervention.
• Improved detection accounts for part of the increase, but advanced-stage diagnoses indicate a genuine rise.
• Young adults with symptoms should not be dismissed due to age, as cases like Bradley Coombes show.