Jicun Zhu, Tiandong Li, Jiajun Chen, et al. BMC Cancer. 2025 Jul 12;25(1):1168
In recent years, the incidence of early-onset cancers among individuals under 50 years of age has been on the rise. From 1990 to 2021, the incidence rate of all early-onset cancers in China increased by 150.72 per 100,000, while the mortality and disability-adjusted life years (DALY) rates decreased by 4.30 per 100,000 and 279.34 per 100,000, respectively. In 2021, early-onset breast cancer had the highest incidence rate (17.14 per 100,000), and lung cancer had the highest mortality rate (6.15 per 100,000) and DALY rate (292.48 per 100,000). The standardized DALY rate of all early-onset cancers decreased, while multiple myeloma, neuroblastoma and other peripheral nervous cell tumors, malignant neoplasm of bone and articular cartilage, kidney cancer, and mesothelioma showed significant increases with AAPC of 4.14%, 3.83%, 1.20%, 0.65%, and 0.33%, respectively. Tobacco consumption (23.01%) was the primary contributor to the disease burden of early-onset cancers in males, whereas unsafe sexual behavior (10.53%) was the primary contributor in females. The mortality and DALY rate of early-onset cancers in China decreased, while the incidence rate increased. Trachea/bronchus/lung cancer is one of the most severe early-onset cancers, and effective measures need to be taken against the main risk factors.
15 Apr, 2026