Cancer, cases among young people are increasing in Italy

2024-01-15 01:22:35

“In Italy all the medical oncologists have realized that from a clinical point of view we are seeing more and more cases of cancer among young people.” A trend that concerns “all oncological pathologies: not only colorectal cancers, but also pancreatic, breast and lung cancers. We are working on precise data, but there is also an increasing trend in our country”, declared Saverio Cinieri, president of the Aiom Foundation, to time.news Salute, after the ‘Wall Street Journal’ – as also highlighted by Professor Roberto Burioni, reported the “disconcertion” of oncologists at a boom in cancer diagnoses in under 50 group, which grew by approximately 13% from 2000 to 2019. “As Aiom we have said it several times”, recalls Cinieri. “There is an increase in cases in younger patients – he confirms – which is due to bad behaviour: cigarettes, alcohol, sedentary lifestyle, incorrect diet”, in short, incorrect lifestyles.

In December, Aiom (Italian Association of Medical Oncology) and the Aiom Foundation released the latest report ‘Cancer numbers in Italy’, recalls Cinieri. The report indicates that “in 2023 there are 395 thousand cancer cases expected in our country”, 208 thousand in men and 187 thousand in women, “not a huge increase, but it is there, both in men and women, even if more the men”. However, “the important data concerns the deaths spared”, remarks the oncologist.

“In both Italian men and women – we read in the report – the observed number of deaths caused by all tumors as a whole was every year, from 2007 to 2019, lower than the expected number compared to the average rates of 2003-2006. In men, in the period 2007-2019, for all tumor sites together, 206,238 fewer deaths were estimated than expected, equivalent to a 14.4% decrease in oncological deaths over the entire period. cancer cases avoided went from 4,143 in 2007 to 28,952 in 2019 in men (-23.5% compared to the expected number)”.

As for women, “in the period 2007-2019 for all cancer sites together, 62,233 fewer deaths were estimated than expected, equivalent to a 6.1% decrease in oncological deaths over the entire period. The number of cancer deaths avoided went from 614 in 2007 to 9,346 (-11%) in 2019”. Numbers on which Cinieri insists, which “do honor to our national health system and which the USA cannot boast”.