April 14, 2026
National Cancer Institute/UNSPLASH.COM
As many as 1 in 6 people who survive cancer as adolescents or young adults will have another cancer diagnosis 30 years later, a new study shows.
Young people who survive cancer have double the risk of being diagnosed with most types of cancer later in life, new research says.
Among the nearly 24,500 people ages 15-39 who were diagnosed with cancer in Alberta, Canada, between 1983 and 2017, about 6% — 1,442 people — also developed a later cancer, the study shows. The later diagnosis came even after people had been cancer free for five years after their initial diagnoses.
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The effects of their cancer treatments, including chemotherapy, radiation and hormone therapy, may be partly explain the heightened risk, the researchers said. Their findings were published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
People who had Hodgkin lymphoma and breast cancer particularly were at risk of developing a second type of cancer. Breast cancer, colorectal cancer and lung cancer were the most frequent cancers that came as second diagnoses.
Ultimately, 1 in 6 adolescents and young adult cancer survivors will develop another form of cancer 30 years after their initial diagnoses, the researchers said.
"Our findings suggest that earlier cancer surveillance in this population may be warranted, which agrees with numerous survivorship guidelines that recommend earlier breast and colorectal cancer surveillance for at-risk cancer survivors," the authors wrote.
Cancer among younger people, known as "early-onset" cancer, has been rising by about 1% to 2% a year. Worldwide, cancer rates in people under 50 rose nearly 80% between 1990 and 2019. Deaths from these early-onset cancers increased by about 27% during that same period, research shows.
Cancer rates among women under 50 are up 51% from 2002. And young women are experiencing cancer incidence rates more than 80% higher than young men, recent statistics from the American Cancer Society show.
Colorectal cancer rates in particular have surged, with more than 1 in 5 diagnoses now occurring in people 55 and younger, according to the Cancer Research Institute.
Pancreatic, kidney and other common types of cancers also are occurring at higher rates among young people, the American Cancer Society says.
The reason cancer rates are increasing in young people is not entirely understood.
Obesity and alcohol consumption may be playing a part, as may microplastics, research suggests.
Changes in gut microbes also may be involved in rising rates of colorectal cancer, a 2024 study found.
Other factors may include having children later in life, chronic inflammation and disparities in health care access and treatment.
