Why Gen X is getting cancer more often than their parents’ generation

More bummer news for Gen X: A new study finds that the forgotten generation is being diagnosed with more cancer than their parents’ and grandparents’ generations.

“Our results speak to the rate of incidence per 100,000 people,” the researchers told The Post on Monday. “According to our projections and analysis, Gen X is experiencing more cancer than their parents. They are outpacing both baby boomers and the Silent Generation in the incidence of leading cancers combined.”

The researchers analyzed the number of newly diagnosed cancer cases among Gen X (born between 1965 and 1980), baby boomers (1946-1964), and the Silent Generation (1928-1945).

The study — conducted by biostatisticians at the National Cancer Institute’s Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics — was published Monday in JAMA Network Open.

“The substantial increases we identified in Generation X vs both the baby boomers and their
proxy parents surprised us,” the authors wrote in their findings.

The researchers noted that public health initiatives have led to “substantial declines” in smoking while screening tests can find colon, rectum, cervix, uterus and breast cancers early.

“However, other suspected carcinogenic exposures are increasing,” the researchers reported.

They said it seems likely that some of the growth is attributable to rising obesity rates and increasingly sedentary lifestyles. They also acknowledged that more cancer cases may be recorded these days thanks to improvements in medical imaging and changes in cancer registry policies.

They call for more research into the contemporary causes of cancer.

In their study of 3.8 million cancer patients, researchers found there have been declines in lung and cervical cancers among Gen X women, but also “significant increases” in thyroid, kidney, rectal, endometrial, colon, pancreatic and ovarian cancers, non-Hodgkin lymphoma and leukemia.

Among Gen X men, declines in non-Hodgkin lymphoma and lung, liver and gallbladder cancers have been offset by gains in thyroid, kidney, rectal, colon and prostate cancers and leukemia.

The researchers reported they had “too few data points” to produce estimates for millennials (born between 1981 and 1996), although they are concerned about how cancer will affect this generation when they enter their 40s, 50s and 60s.

“On one hand, our analysis shows that the proxy parents of the millennials are experiencing as much or more cancer than the proxy parents of Generation X. This increase is concerning because of shared cancer predisposing lifestyle factors and exposures,” the researchers wrote.

“On the other hand, thanks to the global investment in cancer research, there are tremendous opportunities to prospectively reduce the millennials’ future cancer burden,” they added.

The study authors say that reducing tobacco and alcohol use, increasing physical activity, improving dietary habits and promoting breastfeeding can lower the risk of cancer.

If people do not take preventive actions, the researchers warn that “cancer incidence in the US could
remain unacceptably high for decades to come.”