14 DAY TRIAL // Scientists looking to better understand the occurrence of cancer in young children and teenagers have long realized that geographical factors and family lifestyle may play an important part in the evolution of a child's health. When it comes to family background and the family's state of affluence, we'd be inclined to believe that children who grow up in rich families ought to be better protected against cancer, have access to better-quality food and medical care. In adults, cancer incidence and mortality are directly linked and rise with increasing deprivation, which means that poorer people are more likely to develop the disease in one form or another. However, a recent study shows that in youngsters and teenagers, the situation is reversed.
Thus, unlike cancer in adults, new cases and cancer-induced deaths among teens are notably lower in poorer areas. Also, certain specific types of cancer such as brain tumors and skin cancer occur more in young people who grow up in rich families, although there is no clear explanation as to why this happens. "Until recently, very little was known about the detailed patterns of cancer in teenagers and young adults [...]. The most recent studies have looked at geographical variations, time trends and associations with deprivation. Results show that in contrast to cancers in older people, incidence and mortality decreases with increasing deprivation in young people", said Professor Jillian Birch of Cancer Research UK.
"This is because the more common types of cancers that occur in young people are associated with affluence, including lymphomas, brain tumors, germ cell tumors and melanoma", added Professor Birch, in an intervention at the Teenage Cancer Trust's International Conference on Teenage and Young Adult Cancer Medicine. Very alarmingly, she also pointed out that some cancer rates are rising in younger people - cervical cancer and melanoma skin cancer in particular. Under these circumstances, it is extremely important to understand the mechanisms that trigger the higher incidence of these forms of cancer, given that they are potentially preventable and could ideally be eradicated, or at least brought under sharp control.