Accelerated ageing confers early-onset cancer risk
A study published in Nature Reviews Cancer suggests that accelerated biological ageing is a significant risk factor for early-onset solid cancers. Researchers found that individuals born in later cohorts exhibit higher biological age relative to their chronological age, correlating with increased cancer incidence.
Why it matters
Identifying biological ageing as a generational risk factor could fundamentally change how medical professionals approach cancer prevention and screening for younger populations.
Nature Reviews Cancer ( 2026 ) Cite this article
With the rapid rise in incidence of early-onset solid cancers, which occur before the age of 50, there is a growing need to identify generational risk factors that account for this rise and that may inform the design of future prevention strategies. With this objective in mind, Tian et al. conducted an observational cohort study utilizing data from biobanks in the UK and USA, finding that more advanced biological ageing compared to chronological age may be one such aetiological factor.
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