Cancers of the breast, colon, esophagus, kidney, liver and pancreas, among others, have seen a dramatic increase since the 1990s, the researchers said. “From our data, we observed something called the birth cohort effect. This effect shows that each successive group of people born later (say, a decade later) has a higher risk of developing cancer later in life, likely due to risk factors to which they were exposed at a young age,” Shuji Ogino, MD, Ph.D., a professor and physician-scientist, said in the report, suggesting an increasing risk with each generation. According to the Brigham and Women’s Hospital report, exposures from conception to age 19 play a role in cancer diagnoses before a person turns 50. The study found that the increasing incidence is partly attributable to earlier screenings for some of these cancers, however, early life exposures such as diet, weight, lifestyle, environmental exposure and people’s microbiome can to influence what contributes to early cancer, but more information is needed on individual exposures, according to the report. “Even intrauterine exposure can lead to cellular reprogramming, including epigenetic changes, that may have long-term effects on chronic disease susceptibility,” the researchers wrote. Factors such as alcohol consumption increase the risk of developing cancer, according to the report. From the 1960s to the early 2010s, alcohol consumption increased in many countries. Another study from April found that moderate alcohol consumption increased the risk of cancer in women. “We’re finding that probably between 5% and 10% of all cancers worldwide are due to alcohol use,” Dr. Suneel Kamath, a clinical GI oncologist at the Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center, told “Good Morning America” in April. An American Cancer Society report from January found that nearly 2 million new cases of cancer are expected to be diagnosed in the U.S. this year, with more than 600,000 Americans dying from cancer in 2022. ABC News’ Mary Kekatos contributed to this report.
