New research projects higher cancer rates for Gen X when they hit age 60 compared to Baby Boomers. FatCamera/Getty Images/E+ hide caption As they head into their golden years, Gen-Xers are more likely to be diagnosed with cancer than the generation born before them, the Baby Boomers, a new National Cancer Institute study finds. If current cancer trends continue, the paper published this month in JAMA Network Open concludes, “cancer incidence in the U.
S. could remain unacceptably high for decades to come.” What’s driving the projected rise in rates of invasive cancer remains an open question.
“Our study can’t speak to any particular cause,” said lead author Philip S. Rosenberg , senior investigator in the institute’s biostatistics branch. “It gives you boots-on-the-ground intelligence about what is happening.
That's where you go and look for clues about causes.” Researchers believe early detection, obesity and sedentary lifestyles might explain some of the rise in cancer rates. Some research also points to pollutants, including a class of manmade chemicals known as PFAS, as possible culprits.
Rosenberg and his team used data from 3.8 million people diagnosed with malignant cancer in the U.S.
from 1992 until 2018 to compare cancer rates for members of Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980) and Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964). He then ran modeling that shows that when Gen-Xers turn 60 years old (starting in 2025), they are more likely to be diagnos.
