Oral sex, ultra processed foods, and vaping are some of the possible factors responsible for the endemic rates of among people under 50. According to
cancer Research UK, while the cancer rate among older people in the
UK still remain the highest, rates among young people have risen the sharpest since the mid-1990s, with a 19% increase among the 0 to 24-year olds and a 22% increase in people aged 25-49 the steepest increase of all. This trend is reflected globally, and as the endemic of among young people surges, doctors are striving to find the reason - or reasons – why. While an increase in cancer risk has long been linked to smoking, red meat, environmental factors such as pollution and second hand smoke, and lifestyle habits like intake and weight, doctors are now looking at ultra processed foods, and vaping as some of the possible causes. Research published by the has linked oral sex and a higher number of casual sexual partners to a higher rate of mouth cancer in 40 to 49-year-olds. Also linked to mouth cancer, the human papillomavirus (HPV), is an STI which is also passed on through oral sex. The Telegraph that one study found that snogging, chiefly “deep kissing”, is linked to a greater risk, with people who deeply kissed with 10 or more people were twice as likely to develop an HPV-related cancer. Vaping and the less-than-ideal environment it creates in your mouth are also possible factors doctors are looking into. Vaping can lead to poor oral hygiene and gum disease as it reduces the blood flow to the gums, increasing the likelihood of infections. In turn this promotes the strain of the bacteria, fusobacterium nucleatum which has been linked to breast, head, neck and colorectal cancers. Dr Tim O’Brien, a medical oncologist and researcher at Queen’s University Belfast described the bacteria as a “very sticky bug”, adding: “which sticks onto the surface of the teeth and gums, and allows other bad bacteria to come in.” This bacteria can enter the bloodstream and different organs and can get in the way of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Dr Tim O’Brien explained: “It thrives within the tumour environment so it’s in its interest for the tumour to survive.” Similarly to vaping, diets high in ultra-processed foods disrupt the gut microbiome which lets nasty bacteria such as f. nucleatum and strains of E.coli, which has been linked to colorectal cancer, to thrive, researchers believe. An increased caner risk is a knock on effect of this. Dr Meera Patel, a researcher in the Colorectal & Peritoneal Oncology Lab at the University of Manchester, said: “There’s also a theory that certain bacteria can impair the gut vascular barrier which stops the spread of bacteria from your colon to your wider circulation, and if you have an impaired gut vascular barrier, then tumour cells can move out of the colon and metastasise to other organs.”