Almost 1 million Australians have been diagnosed with cancer over the past 10 years. Three out of every 10 deaths in Australia are caused by cancer. An estimated 88% of these cancers are in people over 50, clearly illustrating the high mortality rate in this group.
However, a changing picture is emerging. Cancer is no longer the scourge solely of older Australians, it is now also afflicting more and more young Australians in their 30s and 40s. This is particularly evident for thyroid and bowel (colorectal) cancer but also true for breast, prostate, and kidney cancers, as well as others. Bladder cancer is the 11th most common cancer in Australia, so we will need to watch how this trends amongst the young. Read Steven Raeburn’s and Tiana Murty’s stories. Tiarna was diagnosed with bladder cancer at the age of 24 and Steven at 41.
As an example, since 2000, the stark increase in the diagnosis rate for bowel cancer has tripled from 6.3% to 18.9% in 30-39 year-olds. Alarmingly, the rate of death for the young with bowel cancer has also increased from 1.8% to 2.8%. This is the exception for early deaths, with the death rate for most cancers newly diagnosed in the young thankfully not as dire. In fact, it has been noted that there has generally been a decrease in the cancer mortality rate for most cancers in this age cohort.
Why is there now a greater incidence of cancer diagnosis among 30 and 40 year olds?
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and Sloan Kettering point to two major reasons:
1. Improved surveillance and early diagnosis.
o The implementation of national population-based screening programs such as those for bowel cancer, prostate cancer and breast cancer are yielding results with more people being diagnosed and being diagnosed earlier. The lowering of screening ages has helped. The earlier the diagnosis, the greater chance for treatment and survival.
o Greater surveillance of expanding populations which surveys larger raw data which may translate into larger incidences.
o Improved diagnostic techniques such as multi-omics profiling and digital sensing, liquid biopsies, next-generation sequencing, AI-powered imaging, and theranostics.
o Increased cancer literacy among the community promoted by government agencies (eg CancerAustralia), charities (eg Cancer Council Australia, BladderCancer.org) and celebrity prominence and events (eg fun runs, ribbons, fund raisers, awareness campaigns).
2. Environmental and lifestyle factors. As referenced in our last newsletter (Autumn) there are a number of lifestyle and environmental factors that research (and anecdotal evidence) has shown to contribute to the development of cancer. They include:
o Obesity and sedentary lifestyles. The increase in cancer in the young is strongly tied to obesity, especially influenced by Western diets and sedentary lifestyles.
o Accelerated biological aging. A recent Washington University (2026) study has found that younger generations are maturing physically at a faster rate than in the past and that this is a contributing factor for early-onset cancer.
o Genetics and family history. Approximately 1 in 5 of early-onset of cases carry an inherited germline mutation (colorectal, breast, kidney, pancreatic, ovarian).
o Other lifestyle factors such as excessive drinking and smoking.
o Environmental and occupational chemical exposures to aromatic amines found in the chemical, dye and rubber industries as well as in hair dyes, paints, fungicides, plastics, metals and motor vehicle exhaust. Steven Raeburn’s account (below) of his early-onset bladder cancer points to the hazards of exposure to environmental toxins.
o Long-latency environmental exposures. Exposures to toxins which may have occurred well in the past are only now becoming visible.
Sources: AIHW – Overview of cancer in Australia, 2025; Memorial Sloan Kettering; PubMedCentral