ASPO Abstracts
National Trends in Younger Onset Obesity-Related Cancer Incidence
Category: Cancer Health Disparities
Conference Year: 2021
Abstract Body:
Purpose: Obesity is a risk factor for many cancers, and obesity-related cancer incidence in the
United States has been rising over the years. In the recent decades, the younger population of
the U.S. has experienced an increase in obesity. These increases have been the highest
among ethnic minorities, and in the Southeast, while less evident in the Northeast. The
objective of this study was to understand recent trends in incidence of 11 obesity-related
cancers among adults under the age of 50.
Methods: Age adjusted incidence rates (2001-2016) for cancers of the following sites: female
breast, colorectal, endometrial, esophageal, liver, kidney, multiple myeloma, non-cardia gastric,
ovarian, pancreatic, and thyroid cancers were calculated using data obtained from Surveillance,
Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER-18). Data were stratified by age +/- 50 years old,
racial/ethnic groups: non-Hispanic white (NHW), non-Hispanic black (NHB), Asian American or
Pacific Islander (AAPI), and Hispanic, and geographic regions: West, Midwest, Northeast, and
Southeast, and by sex. We used SEER*Stat and JoinPoint software for analysis.
Results: We observed statistically significant increasing trends of incidence among younger
adults for colorectal cancer in NHWs, NHBs, and Hispanics, kidney cancer in all race groups,
multiple myeloma among NHBs, non-cardia gastric cancer in Hispanic males (APC=3.5%) and
thyroid cancer in NHW (APC=22.5%) and AAPI (APC=30%) males. Geographic stratification
revealed increasing trends of younger onset female breast cancer in the Northeast (APC=
2.2%). Increasing trends for younger onset myeloma, non-cardia gastric, and thyroid cancers
are steepest in the Northeastern U.S. and steepest for younger onset colorectal cancer in the
Southeast U.S. Many of these cancers were not increasing among adults over 50.
Conclusions: We observed increasing trends in younger onset cancers of the kidney, colorectal,
multiple myeloma, non-cardia gastric, thyroid, and female breast. Preventing obesity through
education, better food produce availability and programs, and healthcare accessibility may
reduce the impact of these cancers. Reduced age for screening for colorectal cancer may
improve opportunity for earlier detection and improved prognoses in younger adult
Keywords: descriptive epidemiology, young onset cancer, trends