Accelerated Biological Aging Linked to Rising Early-Onset Cancer Rates

New research suggests that younger generations may be experiencing accelerated biological aging, which could contribute to the increasing rates of early-onset cancers. Scientists found that individuals from more recent generations exhibited biological profiles that appeared older than their chronological age when compared to earlier generations. This accelerated aging was associated with a higher risk of cancers diagnosed before the age of 55.

The study, led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, examined data from over 154,000 young adults in the UK Biobank and more than 10,000 participants in the United States from the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) All of Us Research Program. The team assessed both systemic aging, which measures overall bodily aging, and organ-specific aging, focusing on individual organs or biological systems. They utilized established clinical biomarkers and metabolomic age scores for systemic aging, and blood proteomic data for organ-specific aging.

Generational differences in biological aging were observed in both UK and US populations. For instance, participants in the UK born between 1965 and 1974 showed systemic aging that was 23% higher than those born between 1950 and 1954, after accounting for chronological age. In the US data, participants born between 1990 and 1999 had systemic aging that was 92% higher than those born between 1965 and 1969.

This accelerated systemic aging in younger groups was linked to an eight percent increased risk of early-onset solid cancers. The strongest associations were found with lung, gastrointestinal, and uterine cancers. Individuals with the most advanced systemic aging had a 15% increased risk of early-onset solid cancer compared to those with the least advanced aging. Specific connections were also identified, such as advanced immune system aging with early-onset lung cancer and advanced adipose tissue aging with early-onset colorectal cancer.

The findings, published in the journal *Nature Medicine*, indicate that measuring accelerated aging could help identify younger individuals at higher cancer risk. This could potentially allow for earlier prevention or screening strategies. Researchers are continuing to investigate how environmental, lifestyle, and societal changes may contribute to these biological shifts and increased cancer susceptibility.