Findings

Congress finds that— (1) cancer is the second most common cause of death in the United States, with over 2,000,000 new cases diagnosed annually and an expected 626,140 cancer deaths in 2026; (2) the incidence of cancer in individuals ages 18 to 49 (referred to in this section as young adults), has risen 79 percent globally between 1990 and 2019, and mortality from cancer in that age group has risen by 28 percent; (3) the incidence of young adult cancers is predicted to increase by 30 percent globally from 2019 to 2030; (4) each year in the United States, approximately 200,000 young adults are diagnosed with cancer and approximately 30,000 young adults die from cancer; (5) the incidence of cancers in young adult women is now 82 percent higher than the incidence of cancers in young adult men, and cancers in young adult women has increased by 51 percent since 2002; (6) the economic cost in the United States of young adult cancers is estimated at $50,000,000,000 to $80,000,000,000 annually, due to costs relating to medical care, out-of-pocket expenses, lost productivity, caregiver burden, and premature deaths; (7) rates of young adult cancers are increasing significantly for digestive cancers, including colorectal and pancreatic cancers, lung cancers, gynecological cancers, including cervical, uterine, and ovarian cancers, breast cancers, prostate cancers, testicular cancers, thyroid cancers, melanoma, sarcoma, lymphoma, leukemia, and head and neck cancers; (8) colorectal cancers are the leading cause of young adult cancer-related deaths in the United States, and the second-leading cause of cancer overall; (9) lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in both men and women in the United States, and rates are rising among young adults, including for non-smokers, the majority of whom are women; (10) some cancers, including colorectal cancers and lung cancers, are more likely to be more advanced at diagnosis and have worse survival rates for young adults than for individuals in other age groups; (11) current eligibility criteria for cancer screening, including for colorectal and lung cancers, fail to identify many young adults who develop these diseases; (12) young adult cancers have significant short- and long-term social and economic impacts on individuals, their families, and society, and are linked to higher risk of long-term health problems in survivors; (13) the risk factors contributing to young adult cancers remain complex and may include interaction of genetic and biological factors, as well as lifestyle and environmental exposures, making identification of at-risk groups difficult; (14) young adults with cancer face an average delay of 7 months between symptom onset and treatment, versus 1 month for individuals age 50 and over; and (15) barriers to diagnosis for young adult cancers include screening ineligibility linked to age, delay in presentation to primary care after symptom appearance, more frequent misattribution of symptoms to less severe conditions, and delay in referral to a cancer specialist.