Accelerated biological aging linked to early‑onset cancer surge; 50‑year health assessment proposed

A study published in Nature Medicine analysed medical records of more than 154,000 UK Biobank participants and over 10,000 individuals from the US All of Us programme. It found a 24 % global rise in cancers diagnosed before age 50 between 1990 and 2019, with a four‑fold higher risk of early colorectal cancer among people born in the 1990s versus the 1960s in western nations. Researchers suggest that accelerated biological aging, measured through systemic and organ‑specific biomarkers, may help explain the increase.

At the Longevity Summit in Toulouse, geroscience experts advocated a “longevity health assessment” at age 50. The proposed check‑up would combine clinical, biological and functional tests—including muscle strength, cognition, metabolic markers and lifestyle surveys—to detect early signs of ageing and guide preventive actions before frailty appears.