By Emily Joshu Health Reporter in Chicago for Dailymail.Com
9:30 p.m. June 4, 2024, updated 10:29 p.m. June 4, 2024
As scientists work to unravel the mysterious rise in early-onset colon cancers, a worrying new trend has emerged.
Lung cancer rates, which have been declining for decades as the world goes tobacco-free, are now increasing among otherwise healthy young people who have never smoked.
One in ten lung cancer diagnoses in the United States are in patients younger than 55, but the rate of early cases has increased over the past two decades. And the proportion of these young patients who have never smoked cigarettes is also increasing.
Researchers believe the way new homes are built could expose residents to toxic gas. They also say vaping and cannabis could be factors.
Lung cancer is the deadliest form of the disease, accounting for one in five cancer deaths in the United States. With more than 230,000 diagnoses, 125,000 Americans are expected to die from it this year.
Although most patients are over 70, Dr. Laura Mezquita, a medical oncologist in Spain, told a panel at the world’s largest cancer research conference this weekend that there are had an “increased incidence” among Americans under the age of 50.
Beyond smoking, “we need to consider other aspects,” she said.
Science has long established that smoking definitely causes lung cancer and is the primary risk factor for the disease.
However, while smokers make up up to 90 percent of older lung cancer patients, that number drops to 71 percent among younger patients.
Younger patients also have significantly shorter exposures, with an average of 11.5 years compared to 49 years in older patients.
“Abandoning the perception of smoking as fashionable further decreases the proportion of smokers among the young population,” the researchers write in a report published before ASCO.
According to recent data from Pew Research, only 10% of young adults reported smoking between 2019 and 2023, compared to 35% between 2001 and 2003. According to the team, this indicates a nearly unprecedented level.
“Therefore, new evidence is emerging regarding exposure to Group 1 carcinogens other than tobacco, where potency…degree of exposure…may play a greater role in younger patients.”
Group 1 carcinogens are substances proven to cause cancer. Beyond smoking, other factors include air pollution and ultraviolet rays.
“Radon gas is a leading cause of lung cancer among nonsmokers and the second leading cause among smokers,” the researchers wrote.
Radon is an invisible, odorless gas produced from the decay of uranium found in rocks, soil and water. The World Health Organization estimates that radon is responsible for 3 to 14 percent of lung cancers.
“Radon is the leading cause of cancer in nonsmokers,” Dr. Mezquita said. “Radon is also a risk factor among young people.”
She said this could be due to exposure to radon in homes from birth, which could enter the home through contaminated soil.
Additionally, a 2019 report in Nature found that radon exposure in homes is increasing due to the tighter sealing of modern construction.
Dr. Mezquita also highlighted vaping, which she said “is very prevalent among younger populations.”
Much of the science remains unclear, but some recent reports suggest that vaping may increase the risk of lung cancer, particularly in those who have previously smoked.
A first-of-its-kind study from Seoul, South Korea, analyzed health data from 4.3 million former smokers and found that those who switched to vaping were twice as likely to die from a lung cancer than those who stopped at turkey.
Additionally, ASCO researchers noted that among young people who smoke, marijuana could exacerbate risks.
“Cannabis use is often associated with tobacco, which poses problems for a separate assessment. New evidence has linked it to more aggressive forms of lung cancer in younger patients,” the team wrote.
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Dr. Mezquita said that while there is evidence pointing to all of these factors, there is not just one to blame. “It’s not just radon, it’s not just air pollution, it’s not just smoking. It’s an interaction between all of these risk factors.
During ASCO, Dr. Matt Hiznay, 37, a lung cancer survivor and scientist from Ohio, took the stage to explain in detail how he was diagnosed with lung cancer as a young adult had affected him.
In 2011, Dr. Hiznay was diagnosed with stage four adenocarcinoma after several months of persistent coughing and back and chest pain. He was only 24 years old and had never smoked.
“There were really no warning signs,” he said. “Cancer was nowhere on the radar.”
“You are at the beginning of your life. When you are young and receive a diagnosis, it is very difficult to see the future. Thoughts of the future have disappeared.
Although he never smoked and had no family history of lung cancer, Dr. Hiznay tested positive for a mutation in his EML4-ALK gene.
Previous reports have shown that EML4-ALK patients are “significantly” younger than patients with other mutations like the more common EGFR. The median age of these patients was 52 years, compared to 66 years in the control group.
Dr. Hiznay has relapsed twice but has been cancer-free since 2015. “As a 12-year survivor, I have made many friends among lung cancer survivors, and I have survived them all, and it’s something that I carry within me. ‘ he said.