June 22, 2026

expert reaction to study of biological ageing and cancer in younger people

A study published in Nature Medicine looks at biological ageing and early-onset cancer risk. 

Dr John Riches, Clinical Reader in Cancer Immuno-metabolism, Barts Cancer Institute, said:

“This study offers an important new clue as to why we are seeing more cancers diagnosed in younger adults. While cancer is still predominantly a disease of older age, researchers around the world are trying to understand why rates of some cancers are rising in younger generations, and these findings suggest that accelerated biological ageing may be playing a role.

“What makes this research particularly significant is that it looks beyond individual cancer cells and considers the wider changes taking place across the body over time. The findings reinforce the idea that factors such as our environment, lifestyle and overall health can have long-term effects on the body’s biological processes.

“Importantly, this study does not show that faster biological ageing directly causes cancer, but it provides a strong basis for further research. A better understanding of these processes could help identify people at increased risk earlier and support the development of more effective prevention and early detection strategies in the future.”

Dr Jyoti Nangalia, Group Leader at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, said:

“The ongoing rise in cancers affecting younger people remains a major challenge for cancer research. This study suggests that people who appear biologically older than expected for their age may have a slightly higher risk of developing certain cancers earlier in life. Measurements of biological age are likely capturing the combined effects of many exposures such as genetics, lifestyle and environmental factors. We now need further research to understand exactly what these measurements are telling us. Are they capturing processes that directly drive cancer development, or are both these biological changes and cancer being driven by other shared underlying factors? It will be fascinating to see whether such measurements may help us track changes in health across different populations and generations.” 

‘Biological aging and generational shifts in early-onset cancer risk’ by Ruiyi Tian et al. was published in Nature Medicine at 10am UK time on Monday 22 June. 

Declared interests

Jyoti Nangalia: “no interests to declare”

For all other experts, no reply to our request for DOIs was received.