The most common cancers that strike at every age from childhood to retirement – as cases in under-50s soar

THERE are many upsides to growing up, from being able to drink booze to eventually kicking your shoes off and retiring.

But one of the downsides, unfortunately, is a higher risk of developing cancer. 

This is because growing older is a key risk factor.

And with more of us living longer worldwide, millions of older people will have to contend with the disease.

New analysis by Cancer Research UK shows by 2040, around 6.3 million new cancer cases are expected across England.

Some of the most common cancers, including prostate cancer, breast cancer and lung cancer are expected to reach all-time highs.

But it’s not just pensioners at risk – there is also projected to be more than 63,000 cases in children and young people aged 0 to 24.

Several new studies have warned of cancer in young people becoming more common – especially in those under 50.

Researchers from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland found that the number of under-50s being diagnosed with cancer worldwide rose by 79 per cent between 1990 and 2019, from 1.82 million to 3.26 million.

“Age is the major risk factor for cancer,” Professor Lawrence Young, a professor of Molecular Oncology from the University of Warwick, told Sun Health.

“This is because cancer results from multiple changes (mutations) in cells that accumulate as you age.

“These changes are mainly due to environmental factors including what we eat and what we breathe (smoking, exposure to chemicals in the environment).

“Children [for instance] are more likely to experience leukaemia because this type of cancer requires only a few mutations, some of which can occur as the baby develops in the womb.

“As for breast cancer in older women, this again is due to the ageing process to the accumulation of a lifetime of mutations.”

The most common symptoms of cancer, regardless of type, are:

• Weight loss
• Loss of appetite
• Fatigue or lack of energy
• Lump
• Pain
• Night sweats or fever
• Unexplained bleeding or bruising

Here, we put the most common cancers in Brits during each stage of their life under the microscope.

WOMEN

AGE: 0-14

MOST COMMON CANCER: Leukaemia

SYMPTOMS: 

• Fatigue (tiredness that lasts a long time and doesn’t improve with rest)
• Bruising and bleeding more easily, or bleeding that takes longer to stop
• Infections that are more frequent, severe, or last longer
• Fever (high temperature)
• Weight loss that is unexplained
• Swollen lymph nodes (glands in your neck, armpit and groin)
• Breathlessness
• Feeling generally unwell

IN under-14s, leukaemia is the most predominant form of the disease, making up 31 per cent of cases in girls.

It is a cancer that starts in blood-forming tissue, usually the bone marrow.

It leads to the over-production of abnormal white blood cells, which fight off infections. 

But a higher number of white blood cells means there is ‘less room’ for other cells, including red blood cells – which transport oxygen around the body – and platelets – which cause blood to clot when the skin is cut.

Over 10,000 cases of leukaemia are reported every year in the UK – and 650 of these are children and young people.

Despite progress, only half of leukaemia patients live longer than five years after their diagnosis, partially because many get diagnosed too late.

Blood Cancer UK says it’s worried that low public awareness of the symptoms is contributing to delays in diagnosis.

A spokesperson from the charity said: “Blood cancer symptoms can be confused with less serious common conditions, which may lead to them being dismissed or downplayed.

“People often tell us it never crossed their mind that their symptoms were being caused by blood cancer.

“In most cases, thankfully, the cause won’t be anything serious.

“However, if any of these symptoms are persistent, unexplained or unusual, they should be checked out by a doctor.”

AGE: 15-24

MOST COMMON CANCER: Skin cancer

SYMPTOMS: Small bumps or growths on the skin, changing moles

IN teens and young adults, carcinoma and melanoma are the most common forms of cancer.

The two diseases account for more than four in ten (45 per cent) of cancers in young women.

Both melanoma and carcinoma refer to forms of skin cancer and are often triggered by UV exposure.

They both occur when skin cells start to grow in an unusual way to cause a tumour.

High sunbed use or tanning outdoors in young females may explain their high melanoma incidence rates, Cancer Research says on its website.

Non-melanoma skin cancers, like carcinoma, are diagnosed a combined 147,000 times a year in the UK and kill around 720 people a year in the UK.

Melanoma, meanwhile, is diagnosed 16,000 times a year but is the most serious type that tends to spread around the body.

Like with any cancer, survival rates are best when the illness is detected fast.

AGE: 25-49, 50-74 and 75+

MOST COMMON CANCER: Breast

SYMPTOMS: 

• A new lump or thickening in your breast or armpit
• A change in size, shape or feel of your breast
• Skin changes in the breast such as puckering, dimpling, a rash or redness of the skin
• Fluid leaking from the nipple in a woman who isn’t pregnant or breastfeeding
• Changes in the position of the nipple

WHILE it is usually associated with older women, breast cancer does affect the younger generation too.

In fact, breast cancer makes up almost half (43 per cent) of all cases in women between the ages of 25 and 48.

It also accounts for a third (34 per cent) of cancers in women aged 50-74 and one in five (21 per cent) in women over 75.

Breast cancer is the name given to any cancers that have first developed in the breast tissue – there are many different types.

Nearly 1,000 people die from breast cancer every month in the UK, with the disease killing around 11,500 women each year.

However, thanks to advances in medical research and early prevention, more people are surviving breast cancer than ever before.

MEN

AGE: 0-14

MOST COMMON CANCER: Leukaemia

IN under 14s, leukaemia is the most common form of cancer in boys – making up 32 per cent of cases.

AGE: 15-24

MOST COMMON CANCER: Germ cell tumours

SYMPTOMS: Depend on where the tumour develops. Usually, it starts with a lump that can be felt.

IN teens and young adult men, germ cell tumours are the most common form of cancer, accounting for 25 per cent of all tumours.

Germ cell tumours develop from cells that produce eggs or sperm, so germ cell tumours can affect the ovaries or testes.

But they can sometimes be left behind in other parts of the body from when in the womb, such as the bottom of the spine.

Some tumours are cancerous (malignant), while others are benign.

Over 40 people in the UK are diagnosed with the disease each year.

Almost all people (90 per cent) with stage I or II germ cell tumour survive.

AGE: 25-49

MOST COMMON CANCER: Testicular

SYMPTOMS:

• A swelling or lump 
• An increase in the firmness of a testicle
• A difference in appearance between 1 testicle and the other
• A dull ache or sharp pain in your testicles or scrotum, which may come and go
• A feeling of heaviness in your scrotum

TESTICULAR cancer is the most common form of cancer in young men, making up 14 per cent of diagnoses among men between 25 and 49.

Within this group, the most vulnerable are those under 35.

It happens when abnormal cells in a testicle divide and grow uncontrolled.

Testes are more actively producing testosterone and sperm in men when they are younger, which could be why they are more at risk of the disease than their elder peers.

In the UK, around 2,500 men are diagnosed each year, and 57 die of the disease.

This makes it one of the least lethal male-only cancers, with 80 per cent of all cases cured.

AGE: 50-74 & 75+

MOST COMMON CANCER: Prostate

SYMPTOMS:

• needing to pee more frequently, often during the night
• needing to rush to the toilet
• difficulty in starting to pee (hesitancy)
• straining or taking a long time while peeing
• weak flow
• feeling that your bladder has not emptied fully
• blood in urine or blood in semen

PROSTATE cancer is the most common cancer in men.

More than 52,000 men are diagnosed with the disease every year on average – that’s 144 men every day. 

It is predominantly seen in old age and accounts for 31 per cent of cancer cases in men between the ages of 50-75.

It also affects 25 per cent of men over 75.

The disease kills more than 11,500 men every year.

However, Prof Young says early prostate cancer is very treatable, adding: “A lot of people live a long and healthy life with it.

“There is something called active surveillance where you are examined over the years, but nothing needs to be done because, for a lot of people, prostate cancer won’t spread.

“So most men die with prostate cancer, not because of it.

“The problem with prostate cancer is once it spreads, it does spread quite nastily, particularly to bones, and it’s very painful.” 

There is no screening for prostate cancer, but men are encouraged to check their risk at Prostate Cancer UK.

Cancer of the prostate doesn’t tend to show symptoms, and when it does, it can crossover with those of an enlarged prostate.

The condition is common in older men and usually harmless, though it will need treatment in some cases.

The symptoms of both are needing to urinate more often, including in the night, straining and weak flow.

Men should visit their GP for these symptoms. 

NATIONAL CANCER PLAN FOR ENGLAND

A National Cancer Plan for England is expected later this year, which involve setting a new earlier diagnosis target, introducing strong prevention policies, and a pledge to meet all cancer wait times by 2029.

One Cancer Voice, the coalition of 60 cancer charities, is also calling for public awareness campaigns to boost symptom awareness, support for GPS to aid earlier diagnosis, and improvements to screening programmes.

But preventing cancer cases in the first place is also crucial.

Find out what you can do to reduce your cancer risk below…