JAKARTA - Cancer cases in people under the age of 50 continue to increase. Researchers are now highlighting one possible trigger that is often invisible from the outside, namely a body that ages faster than its actual age.
Launching a report by The Independent, quoted Wednesday, June 24, cancer cases in patients under 50 years of age rose 24 percent globally in the period 1990 to 2019. The number is still increasing.
In the study published in Nature Medicine, researchers analyzed 154,169 people from the UK Biobank and 10,000 people from the United States.
The results, faster biological aging is associated with a higher risk of developing several types of cancer at a younger age. The risk is especially seen in lung cancer, colorectal cancer, and uterine cancer.
Biological age is different from chronological age. Chronological age is the age based on date of birth. Biological age describes the actual condition of the body, including cell function, tissues, immune system, and lifestyle impact.
To measure it, researchers used blood samples and other health data. They used the PhenoAge algorithm, which combines nine results of routine blood tests. The indicator includes blood sugar control, inflammation, and immune function.
Dr. Yin Cao of the Washington University School of Medicine said biological aging is not just about the number of birthdays. According to him, this aging reflects gradual damage in the body at the cellular and molecular levels.
The damage can be in the form of chronic inflammation, weakening the immune system, and cell damage that accumulates over time.
Researchers say markers such as inflammation and DNA damage can be triggered by unhealthy lifestyles or exposure to pollutants.
The team also examined aging in specific organs with a proteomic approach, namely a study of proteins in the body. They found a link between aging of the immune system and young age lung cancer, as well as aging of fat tissue and young age colorectal cancer.
Dr David Scott, one of the researchers, said the cause of the increase in young age cancer in the world did not have a single answer. However, this study helps show that cancer is not only related to changes in certain cells, but also wider changes in the body.
According to Scott, faster biological aging could reflect the combined impact of lifestyle and environmental factors on the body. These findings may help explain why some cancers appear earlier in younger generations.
The study is part of Team Prospect, a research group investigating the rise of cancer in young people in the global initiative Cancer Grand Challenges. The program is funded by Cancer Research UK and the American National Cancer Institute.
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