New Study Reveals Rising Cancer Rates for Gen X
Waking up early on a Saturday morning to catch “Saved by the Bell.” Cozying into your favorite spot on the couch on Thursday nights to get lost in the drama of “Beverly Hills, 90210.” Meeting up with friends over the weekend at a dollar movie theater to laugh at “BAPS” for the second time.
There are certain pop culture experiences that bind a generation together. Generation X, defined as those born between 1965 and 1980, grew up on a steady diet of Saturday morning TV, prime-time love triangles and over-the-top comedy movies. Now the former latch-key kids are all grown up. They are raising families, prepping for retirement and dealing with the realities of aging.
With those realities come the inevitable reminders of mortality. Pop icons of Gen X’s childhood have started to make headlines sharing cancer diagnoses and treatment updates. A few have passed away.
Gen X’s favorite class clown, Dustin Diamond played everybody’s annoying little brother Screech Powers on the kids show “Saved by the Bell.” In 2021, Powers was diagnosed with stage 4 small cell lung cancer, an aggressive disease that accounts for 10% to 15% of all lung cancer cases. He died that same year at the age of 44.
The 1990s’ ultimate cool girl, Shannen Doherty cemented herself in the minds of Gen Xers as Brenda Walsh on “Beverly Hills, 90210.” In 2015, the actress shared she had been diagnosed with breast cancer, the most common type of cancer in the U.S. outside of nonmelanoma skin cancers. After a long public battle with metastatic disease, Doherty died in 2024 at the age of 53.
Comedy star Natalie Desselle-Reid made a name for herself as aspiring music video dancer Mickey in the cult classic “BAPS.” Two decades later, the actress’s family shared that she had been diagnosed with colon cancer, a disease whose rates have been on the rise in people younger than 55. After a private battle, Desselle-Reid died in 2020 at age 53.
The loss of these celebrities reflects a larger trend of cancer rates in Generation X. A recent study published in JAMA Network Open shows that people in Generation X are more likely to develop cancer than those born in the three generations before them (from 1908 to 1964).
Analyzing the Trends
The research, conducted by scientists from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), shows a significant increase in cancers such as thyroid, kidney and rectal cancers among Gen X women, along with higher rates of leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. For men in this generation, there’s a similar rise in thyroid, kidney and rectal cancers, as well as prostate cancer and leukemia. While certain types, like lung and cervical cancers, are on the decline, the overall picture of rising cancer rates in younger people is concerning.
At Moffitt Cancer Center, which opened in 1986, colorectal and kidney cancers have been making up an increasing portion of patients between ages 18 and 40. In Moffitt’s first decade, the cancer center saw a total of 74 young adult colorectal patients, but 53 were treated in 2023 alone. From 1989 to 1999, the cancer center saw less than five young adult kidney cancer patients each year. In just 2023, Moffitt saw 21 young adult patients with kidney cancer.
Cancer epidemiologists study disease patterns like these, as well as their causes and effects on populations. This data helps researchers understand who is getting cancer and how often. The NCI study used extensive cancer registry data from 3.8 million patients in the U.S. to provide valuable insights into cancer incidence trends across generations. It documented how many people were diagnosed with specific types of cancer and how these rates changed over time.
Peter Kanetsky, PhD
However, it’s important to note what the study doesn’t cover, says Peter Kanetsky, PhD, chair of the Cancer Epidemiology Department at Moffitt. “This study is simply a look at the cancer registry data. While it provides a picture of estimated cancer trends, it doesn’t explain why these trends are happening.”
The study does not delve into individual lifestyle factors like smoking or diet that might influence cancer risk. It also doesn’t account for changes in medical technology or detection methods. So, while the study gives us crucial information about rising cancer rates, it also raises important questions that require further research. Understanding the role of environmental exposures, lifestyle choices and even advances in medical technology is crucial to addressing these rising cancer rates.
Kanetsky emphasizes that this study is just the beginning. “The data gives us a roadmap of where cancer incidence may be heading, but now we need to dig deeper to understand the why,” he said. “By leveraging the trend data to inform investigations of different exposures, everything from environmental factors to changes in diet and technology, we can start to piece together a more complete picture of what’s happening.”
An Acceleration in Aging
Moffitt researchers are already exploring possible causes for these trends with the hope of identifying better prevention strategies to reduce cancer incidence in the future. One path to further investigation includes looking at the aging process. Are Gen Xers aging differently from Baby Boomers?
Biological aging is a key factor in the increased risk of cancer as people get older. Over time, cells accumulate genetic mutations and damage due to various factors, including oxidative stress, environmental exposures and errors in DNA replication. This damage can lead to cancer if it affects genes that control cell growth and division.
Ana Gomes, PhD, is a principal investigator in the Molecular Oncology Department at Moffitt. Her lab specializes in understanding how age-driven metabolic and epigenetic changes drive tumor progression and metastasis formation. In the case of rising cancer rates among Gen X, Gomes believes that environmental factors are contributing to accelerating that aging process.
“This is the generation of fast food,” Gomes said. “Your grandparents didn’t eat the kind of foods we eat today. Going from home-cooked meals to processed foods, among other things, is causing us to pay the price.”
Gomes also points to smoking, pollution, stress and sedentary lifestyle as other contributing factors. According to the American Cancer Society, almost half of all cancers are linked to lifestyle factors such as:
- Obesity
- Sedentary lifestyle
- Smoking
- Alcohol
- Lack of exercise
- Stress
A study recently presented at the 2024 American Association of Cancer Researchers Annual Conference shows younger adults are at a higher risk of cancer than ever before. Researchers looked at data from nearly 150,000 people in the U.K. Biobank database. They used nine biomarkers found in blood to calculate each participant’s biological age. People whose biological age was higher than their chronological age were considered to have accelerated aging, which refers to conditions or factors that cause the body to age at a faster rate than normal.
Aging, in turn, is associated with a decrease in the immune system’s ability to detect and eliminate abnormal cells, allowing potentially cancerous cells to thrive. Aging can also alter the microenvironment surrounding cells, including factors like inflammation and changes in tissue architecture, potentially creating conditions that are more conducive to cancer development.
“All of those factors combined puts our bodies under a strain that used to not affect us until our 60s and above,” Gomes said. “These behavioral changes illicit a new biology that is more conducive to tumors.”
Reversing the Trends
When you combine the natural factors of biological aging with the environmental factors of accelerated aging, it puts many Gen Xers at a crossroads where there are more opportunities for cancer to develop.
The findings are not all doom and gloom, however. Gomes stresses there are still many viable options for reducing cancer risk.
“We can go back to those old lifestyles,” she said. “We can walk more, eat better and spend less time at the computer. In the same ways we’re doing this to ourselves, we can also stop doing it. There are many things we can do to make these systems break later.”
