Prostate cancer cases among under-50s have QUADRUPLED since 2001, international study finds

From the Newshound archive · first published 7 October 2026.

A sweeping new study by the World Cancer Research Fund has flagged "statistically significant" rises in eight cancers — breast, bowel, kidney, liver, pancreatic, prostate and uterine — among under-50s in England, the US and the Netherlands. Prostate cancer rates in this age group quadrupled between 2001 and 2023, while bowel, kidney and uterine cancers each more than doubled across the same period.

Researchers are examining obesity, poor diet, alcohol and physical inactivity as potential drivers but caution against attributing the trend to any one lifestyle factor.

Dr Jiri Kubes, radiation oncologist at the Proton Therapy Center in Prague, says it is important to separate rising diagnosis rates from any conclusion that cancer is genuinely becoming more prevalent among younger people.

Jon Shelton, head of cancer intelligence at Cancer Research UK, says the magnitude of the rise makes it imperative to investigate what is behind it.