Modernization doesn't come without a cost. That is evident in the alarming increase in the number of children diagnosed with cancer during the last 16 years, as reported by news outlets in the United Kingdom.
Researchers at the charity Children with Cancer UK analyzed government statistics and found that there is a prominent increase in cancer cases among teenagers and young adults aged between 15 and 24. Figures have surged by 40 percent in the last 16 years, with 1,300 more cases of children and young people diagnosed with cancer annually. In Britain, more than 4,000 children and young people are diagnosed with cancer yearly.
Their cancer was due to breathing polluted air, not following healthy diets, and exposure to radiation (x-rays and CT scans), pesticides and solvents, as per The Telegraph list. The cancer incident rate among teens and young adults has increased from around 10 cases in 100,000 to almost 16.
Colon cancer cases among children and young people have increased to 200 percent since 1998, with thyroid cancer rates doubling. Alisdair Philips, a science advisor at Children with Cancer UK, told Sky News that the increased risk of colon cancer in teens is the result of eating too much fast food and not doing enough exercise to burn meat in the colon.
The research team acknowledged the advances in cancer screening and diagnoses, but environmental factors are still huge cancer contributors. Circadian rhythm disruption because of too much exposure to bright lights at night (e.g. smartphones) is also being blamed for the rise of cancer cases.
Dr. Denis Henshaw, the scientific adviser for Children with Cancer UK and a professor of Human Radiation Effects at Bristol University, said a pregnant mother's diet can "damage DNA in cord blood" and harm the developing baby in her womb. In the United States, the most common cancer types in children aged zero to 19 are leukemia and cancer of the brain and the central nervous system, according to CDC.
Cancer Research UK, nonetheless, considered Children with Cancer UK's claims exaggerated for not being able to account for population growth since 1997, The Independent reported. According to Cancer Research UK, the real figure for cancer diagnoses among young people falls to an eight percent increase in children and 18 percent in teenagers.
Dr. Claire Knight, a health information manager at Cancer Research UK, said environmental factors causing cancer in adults is a sensible finding. But children haven't had the same amount of exposure as that of adults, which means that those environmental factors don't have as much time to damage the body. Knight said inherited genetic conditions and radiation exposure are the real culprits behind childhood cancer.
