The rise of early-onset cancer may be linked to changes in biological aging. Digest
The rise of early-onset cancer has become one of the most puzzling trends in modern oncology. A new study investigated whether changes in biological aging may help explain why some cancers are appearing more frequently in younger adults.
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The researchers analyzed health data from about 150,000 adults in the UK Biobank. Using a blood-based measure called PhenoAge, they estimated whether each participant's biology appeared older or younger than expected for their age. That difference was converted into a standardized age-gap score, in which each one-point increase represented a shift toward more advanced biological aging relative to what would be expected for a person's age. The researchers then examined whether higher scores were associated with solid cancers diagnosed before age 55. To determine whether a similar pattern could be observed in a separate population, they repeated the analysis with data from nearly 9,000 adults enrolled in the All of Us Research Program in the United States.
- More recent generations tended to show more advanced biological aging relative to their actual age. In the UK cohort, participants born between 1965 and 1974 had modestly higher age-gap scores than those born between 1950 and 1954.
- People with the highest age-gap scores had a 15% higher rate of being diagnosed with solid cancers before age 55 than those with the lowest scores.
- Each one-point increase in the age-gap score was associated with a 57% higher rate of lung cancer before age 55. Rates of gastrointestinal cancer were also 17% higher for each one-point increase.
- A similar pattern appeared in the US cohort. Each one-point increase in the age-gap score was associated with a 22% higher rate of early-onset solid cancers.
- Two alternative aging clocks showed weaker overall links to early-onset solid cancers than PhenoAge, although some patterns were similar for individual cancers.
Rather than pointing to a single cause or risk factor, biological age measures may capture the cumulative effects of many influences that shape the body's internal environment over time, including metabolic health, inflammation, sleep, chronic stress, environmental exposures, diet, obesity, physical activity, and social conditions. Together, these factors can affect how tissues function, how the immune system responds, and how the body repairs damage as people age. As a result, biological age measures could help reveal links between generational changes in lifestyle and environmental factors and the rising incidence of early-onset cancer.
Because this was an observational study, it cannot determine whether biological aging contributes to cancer development or simply reflects other factors linked to cancer risk. Biological age tests therefore should not be viewed as tools for predicting who will develop cancer. If confirmed in future studies, biological age measures could help inform prevention and early intervention strategies by identifying biological changes associated with cancer risk earlier in life. In episode #112, I discuss with Dr. Steve Horvath how epigenetic clocks measure biological age and which interventions actually slow or reverse aging.