More Women And Young People Are Getting Cancer Than Before, New Report Shows
Source: Forbes, January 2025
The cancer burden in the United States is shifting towards women and younger people, a new American Cancer Society study released Thursday shows, with disease rates in one group—women aged 50 to 64—surpassing those of men for the first time.
Key Facts
- Cancer rates in women under 50 have soared when compared to their male counterparts, the study shows, and are now 82% higher than the rates seen in men, up from 51% in 2002.
- The shift can be partially blamed on increasing trends for breast and thyroid cancers, the study says, which make up almost half of all cancers in people under 50 and mostly impact women.
- At the same time, rates of common cancers like melanoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma and prostate are decreasing in men under 50.