A new study has found that accelerated ageing was more common in recent birth cohorts and was associated with increased incidence of early-onset solid tumours.
Researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis hypothesised that increased biological age, indicative of accelerated ageing, may contribute to the development of early-onset cancers. These cancers are often defined as cancers diagnosed in adults younger than 55 years.
In contrast to chronological age — which measures how long a person has been alive — biological age refers to the condition of a person’s body and physiological processes and is considered modifiable, Ruiyi Tian, MPH, a graduate student in the lab of Yin Cao, ScD, MPH at Washington University School of Medicine, explained.
“Multiple cancer types are becoming increasingly common among younger adults in the United States and globally,” said Tian.
“Understanding the factors driving this increase will be key to improve the prevention or early detection of cancers in younger and future generations.
“Unlike chronological age, biological age may be influenced by factors such as diet, physical activity, mental health, and environmental stressors.
“Accumulating evidence suggests that the younger generations may be ageing more swiftly than anticipated, likely due to earlier exposure to various risk factors and environmental insults. However, the impact of accelerated ageing on early-onset cancer development remains unclear.”
The team examined data of 148,724 individuals housed in the UK Biobank database and calculated each participant’s biological age using nine biomarkers found in blood. These included albumin, alkaline phosphatase, creatinine, C-reactive protein, glucose, mean corpuscular volume, red cell distribution width, white blood cell count, and lymphocyte proportion.
Individuals whose biological age was higher than their chronological age were defined as having accelerated ageing.
Tian and colleagues first evaluated accelerated ageing across birth cohorts and found that individuals born in or after 1965 had a 17% higher likelihood of accelerated ageing than those born between 1950 and 1954.
They then evaluated the association between accelerated ageing and the risk of early-onset cancers. They found that each standard deviation increase in accelerated ageing was associated with a 42% increased risk of early-onset lung cancer, a 22% increased risk of early-onset gastrointestinal cancer, and a 36% increased risk of early-onset uterine cancer.
Accelerated ageing did not significantly impact the risk of late-onset lung cancer, but it was associated with a 16% and 23% increased risk of late-onset gastrointestinal and uterine cancers, respectively.
“By examining the relationship between accelerating ageing and the risk of early-onset cancers, we provide a fresh perspective on the shared aetiology of early-onset cancers,” Tian said.
“If validated, our findings suggest that interventions to slow biological ageing could be a new avenue for cancer prevention, and screening efforts tailored to younger individuals with signs of accelerated ageing could help detect cancers early.”
Future research from the team will aim to uncover the mechanisms driving accelerated ageing and early-onset cancers to develop precision cancer prevention strategies.
A limitation of the study is that all participants were from the United Kingdom, which may limit the generalisability of the findings to populations with different genetic backgrounds, lifestyles, and environmental exposures. Tian noted that validation in diverse populations is needed.