年轻成人癌症高发或与生物学衰老加速相关

华盛顿大学医学院的研究人员发现，较新一代人群在相同年龄时生物学年龄更大，这可能部分解释了年轻成人癌症发病率上升的原因。1研究团队分析了来自英国生物库的超过15.4万名参与者和美国国立卫生研究院全民研究项目的超过1万名参与者的数据，发现生物学衰老加速与早发性癌症风险增加存在关联。1

在英国数据中，1965至1974年出生的人相比1950至1954年出生者的系统衰老水平高23%标准差。1美国数据显示这一差异更为明显，1990至1999年出生的人相比1965至1969年出生者的系统衰老水平高92%标准差。1研究表明，系统衰老加速与早发性实体癌风险增加8%相关，而生物学衰老最严重的人群相比衰老最轻的人群，早发性实体癌风险增加15%。1具体而言，免疫系统衰老加速与早发性肺癌风险增加相关，脂肪组织衰老加速与早发性结直肠癌风险增加相关。1

华盛顿大学的Yin Cao博士表示："我们的最终目标是解码现代环境如何生物学嵌入以驱动癌症风险。"1该研究由Cancer Grand Challenges倡议资助，该倡议由Cancer Research UK和美国国家癌症研究所共同创立。1研究成果已发表在《Nature Medicine》杂志2026年第32卷第8期。1

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine have identified a potential biological mechanism behind the surge in early-onset cancer diagnoses. A study analyzing data from over 154,000 participants in the UK Biobank and more than 10,000 participants in the U.S. National Institutes of Health's All of Us Research Program found that younger generations are experiencing accelerated biological aging compared to their older counterparts at the same chronological age.1 The research revealed that individuals born between 1965 and 1974 showed 23 percent higher systemic aging compared to those born between 1950 and 1954, while Americans born between 1990 and 1999 demonstrated 92 percent higher systemic aging than those born between 1965 and 1969.1

The accelerated biological aging correlated significantly with increased early-onset cancer risk.1 Researchers found that elevated systemic aging was associated with an 8 percent increase in early-onset solid cancer risk, with individuals experiencing the most severe biological aging showing a 15 percent higher risk compared to those with the least aging.1 Specific tissue-level aging patterns also emerged, with accelerated immune system aging linked to early-onset lung cancer risk and accelerated fat tissue aging associated with early-onset colorectal cancer.1 Dr. Yin Cao stated that the team's objective is to "decode how the modern environment becomes biologically embedded to drive cancer risk."1 The study, published in Nature Medicine in 2026, was supported by the Cancer Grand Challenges initiative, a joint effort of Cancer Research UK and the U.S. National Cancer Institute.1