EXCLUSIVE Top oncologists weigh in on the rise of rare and unusual cancers in young people - and the links to Covid READ MORE: Global cancer phenomenon sees mystery spikes of kinds of tumors By Caitlin Tilley, Health Reporter For Dailymail.Com Published: 20:54, 7 June 2024 | Updated: 21:14, 7 June 2024 e-mail 15 View comments Scientists studying a rise in rare and unusual cancers in young people are turning their attention to an unlikely culprit: Covid. Preliminary research on cells has indicated the virus may fuel the growth of tumors and shut down the body's defense against them - but the theory is widely disputed.
There is, however a consensus among doctors: they're seeing more young and relatively healthy people with obscure forms of the disease after the pandemic . One doctor told DailyMail.com the theory that Covid is driving these cases doesn't hold up because the trend predates the outbreak.
Early-onset cancers of all forms have been on the rise, increasing by 79 percent globally from 1990 to 2019, the year before the pandemic. Other experts found the Covid theory more convincing. They pointed to the fact that already one in four cancer have been linked to other viruses, such as HPV .
The above graph shows the change in cancer case rates around the world Kasra Jahankhani, an Iranian immunologist and lead researcher on a 2023 report on the topic told DailyMail.com: 'It's really controversial and there is a lot of debate around the topic, but we think there are many way.
