• According to recent studies, the number of young persons with appendix cancer is increasing.
• The risk is three to four times higher for Gen Xers and older Millennials than for individuals born in the 1940s.
• It’s crucial to talk to your doctor about any strange stomach symptoms because appendix cancer is uncommon and screening is not routine.

According to a recent study, the number of young persons with appendix cancer is rapidly increasing.

The results, which were released on June 10 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, showed that Millennials and Gen Xers are far more likely than their parents to get appendix cancer.

Experts warn that this kind of cancer is still quite uncommon, affecting only 1-2 individuals out of every million annually Trusted Source.

However, the increase is consistent with a larger pattern of an increase in young people’s early-onset malignancies, including colon cancer.

“Gen X and older Millennials are around three times more likely to receive an appendix cancer diagnosis overall than those born in the 1940s. Andreana N.

Holo wa tyj, PhD, MS, the study’s first author and an assistant professor of hematology and oncology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center, stated, “That was pretty striking to us.”

“We’re really curious about the etiologies behind these concerning and concerning trends after seeing these parallel effects across other gastrointestinal cancers,” Holo wa tyj told Healthline.

“I saw 18- and 20-year-olds with appendix cancer in the clinic last week. We’re observing this as a true phenomena,” he told Healthline.

There is currently little advice on preventing and screening for appendix cancer.

The results of this recent study, however, may raise awareness of this uncommon type of cancer that is developing in young adults.

Millennials and Gen Xers are three to four times more likely to have appendix cancer.

The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) registry of the National Cancer Institute was used by the researchers to examine appendix cancer rates over generations.

Between 1975 and 2019, they found 4,858 incidences of appendix cancer in those aged 20 and over.

An alarming pattern became apparent when looking at occurrence over time.

Since 1945, rates have increased yearly, with those born between 1975–1985 having three–four times the incidence rate of those born in the 1940s.

It doesn’t seem like this growth is only the result of complicating variables like better imaging technology.

According to Turaga, “this is not just a phenomenon of increased detection.”

“I do think that this is a real phenomenon of increasing incidence of appendix cancer, especially in younger adults, based on the size of these numbers, what we’re seeing in our clinics, and what we know about our patients.

” Less than 1% of gastrointestinal cancers are appendix cancers, which is why they are sometimes confused with the more prevalent colon and other GI cancers.

Its biology and epidemiology are therefore relatively poorly understood.

When the removed appendix is sent for biopsy following appendicitis surgery, appendix cancer is frequently discovered by accident.

Less than 1% of gastrointestinal cancers are appendix cancers, which is why they are sometimes confused with the more prevalent colon and other GI cancers.

Its biology and epidemiology are therefore relatively poorly understood.

When the removed appendix is sent for biopsy following appendicitis surgery, appendix cancer is frequently discovered by accident.

In the past, appendix tumors were not identified as a separate biological entity, but rather as right-sided colon cancers Trusted Source.

“In the past ten or so years, there has been evidence that the biology of a tumor in the appendix differs from that of a tumor in the right colon, which really supports the need for more research,” Holo wat yj stated.

“At the moment, appendix cancers are treated like right-sided colon tumors in clinical guidelines due to a lack of evidence and the lack of FDA-approved therapies,” she added.

Why is the prevalence of early-onset cancer rising?

Compared to earlier generations, young adults are more likely to develop a variety of cancers.

According to a 2024 study that was published in the Lancet Public Health Trusted Source, Millennials were more likely to have 17 distinct types of cancer, such as:

• Cancers of the breast, uterus (endometrial),
• and colon Cancers of the stomach,
• testicles, and ovaries

It is unknown what is causing these patterns, despite the evidence supporting them.”

There will be more than one aspect at play. It will be a combination of environmental causes and lifestyle factors, such as the consequences of obesity, physical inactivity, and food habits, according to Holo wat y j.

Turaga mentioned a few possible environmental causes, but emphasized that there is currently insufficient data to establish a direct relationship.

Among the theories are:

• (in both humans and animals) antibiotics dysbiosis,
• or dysregulation of gut flora Exposure to microplastics,
• air pollution,
• and too processed meals increasing prevalence of obesity

We’re not quite there yet because it’s very difficult to identify these factors, but with more data, we should be able to identify the precise factors raising the risk of this illness so that we can develop practical solutions to buck these trends and lessen the overall burden, said Holo wa ty j.

Holo wat y j and colleagues have identified an additional consequence unique to appendix cancer:

the growing prevalence of using antibiotics to treat appendicitis instead of surgery.

Patients with appendix cancer may have worse results as a result of this shift to less intrusive therapy for appendicitis.

One major risk factor for these patients’ tumors actually developing untreated is if you treat them with antibiotics while ignoring the fact that they have appendicitis, she said.