2023-07-02 09:29:08
©ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT / AFP
Public health
Several G20 countries are facing a resurgence of cancer rates among young people aged 20 to 35. This is also the case of France. Some scientists point to a risky lifestyle, but we cannot be satisfied with this explanation alone.
Atlantico: In the G20 countries, researchers are observing a significant increase in the rate of cancer among young people aged 20 to 35. This is a phenomenon without precedent for 30 years, which does not seem to affect the other categories of the population. What do we know regarding this?
Alain Toledano : We must first remember that there are several causes of cancer. Some are unknown, it is a fact, and we are still looking. There are also genetic factors, which we know quite well and which appear to be relatively stable, others which we are discovering as we go along, using our tools. But there are also behavioral and environmental factors. We currently know that they are responsible for at least 40% of preventable cancers. For this, it would normally be necessary to work on the consumption of tobacco, alcohol, sedentary lifestyle and overweight, for example. In short, it is of course the Western way of life that we will have to work on.
Overweight and physical inactivity are identified factors of cancer. That being said, we must also take into account the environment, which can designate both the one in which we live but also the internal environment, which is the intestinal flora. We then speak of the microbiome.
We must also not forget the external factors, such as pollution, for example.
We have not yet identified enough factors to be able to say why it is young people between the ages of 20 and 35 who are affected by this increase in the rate of cancer. All we can say is that cancer is systematically multi-factorial, including for this segment of the population. It is not enough to display a certain type of intestinal flora to necessarily catch cancer! Each individual is different, has different resistances and immunities. This is why, with equal consumption of alcohol, we do not have the same consequences either. The defense mechanisms differ.
When we implement prevention policies, we obviously try to play on several factors at the same time.
Some point the finger at the European – or, at least, Western – way of life and underline the dangers caused by a sedentary lifestyle when it is accompanied by a poor diet and a sharp rise in obesity. . Can we be satisfied with these answers alone or do you think we need to look for other avenues?
Of course, we must continue to look for other factors. The search should never stop. It is precisely because it did not stop, that we were not satisfied with the explanations that we already had that we were able to advance on the question of the intestinal flora or the immune system, for example.
What are the most common cancers seen in 20-35 year olds? Is France particularly concerned?
I don’t think you can say of France that it is particularly affected by this phenomenon. The increase in cancer rates for the generations between 20 and 35 observed there is fairly comparable to what is observed in other Western countries.
Moreover, different types of cancer are observed in these populations. This is often the case with colon-rectum cancer, but also a lot of breast cancer in young women or thyroid cancer. There are of course other cancers: young men can also suffer from testicular cancers which, if they remain rare overall, remain more common in young men than in older men. Some cancers are hormone-dependent, so a multifactorial approach must be considered, once more.
This means, in one case as in the other, that it will be necessary to stop smoking, to play sports… to display a better hygiene of life, in short.
What answers is it possible to provide to limit, as much as possible, the spread of such evil? Besides treating the sick, is it still possible to review our lifestyles?
Let us recall, to begin with, that the African countries which are closest to our standards in terms of lifestyles (i.e. which are becoming sedentary, tend to eat as we do, to exercise less or in any case to move less than before) also join cancer profiles comparable to ours. The issue of lifestyle is therefore important to prevent the spread of cancer.
To limit the harm, we will have to develop our methods of education and prevention: learning to do more sport at school, teaching the basics of eating well, for example. All of this is important.
If we say that 40% of cancers are preventable, we must also remember that 80% of cardiovascular diseases are too. Less than 3% of our budgets are allocated to prevention… The obvious plea is therefore to invest in research, in prevention and in education. It’s also a matter of policy, being proactive.
Thoughts, for the time being, are going well. Awareness is good.
Doctor Alain Toledano is president and co-founder of the Raphael Institute.
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