Accelerated biological aging may be fueling rise in early-onset cancers

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine analyzed more than 154,000 UK Biobank participants and over 10,000 U.S. All of Us volunteers to compare biological age with chronological age across birth cohorts. They observed that people born after the 1960s exhibit higher systemic aging scores, indicating their bodies age faster than earlier generations at the same chronological age. This biological age gap was associated with an 8% rise in early-onset solid cancers, with the strongest links to lung, gastrointestinal, uterine and colorectal tumours.

Organ-specific analyses showed that older-appearing immune systems relate to early lung cancer, while aged adipose tissue connects to early colorectal cancer. The work, published in Nature Medicine, aims to enable earlier risk identification and personalized prevention strategies. The research is part of the Cancer Grand Challenges-funded Team one outlet, which seeks to uncover environmental and lifestyle factors that accelerate aging and cancer risk.