Doctor names main reason why ‘every new patient’ at his cancer clinic is under 45

His research has pointed to a specific cause

Oncologist, Dr Nicholas DeVito from Duke University in North Carolina, US, says the demographic of his patients has shifted in recent years.

DeVito believes the one factor these younger patients have in common is the rise of junk food diets.

Though there is not a single cause for cancer, it is believed that a combination of various factors can increase the likelihood of the disease, factors such as smoking or obesity.

The doctor has analysed data and studied the conversations he’s had with his patients to reach this conclusion.

He explained that gastrointestinal cancers are on the rise among people under the age of 50 and ‘particularly in bile duct and stomach cancer, the rate increases with each younger generation’.

In an article for STAT News, he wrote: “Food can play a major role here, making one’s knowledge of ingredients, the American food system, and how what they eat affects their body critical for decreasing cancer incidence.”

He pinpointed ultra-processed foods as a potential cause for gastrointestinal cancers and he slammed a ‘lack of regulation in the US’ which has allowed additives that are ‘generally recognised as safe’ to flood the food system.

He continued: “This differs from the European Union, where ingredients need to demonstrate safety beforeconsumption.

“Ultra-processed foods are prominently displayed on grocery store end caps and gleefully (and sometimes deceptively) advertised.”

DeVito hopes that by the end of his career he will practice in an era that has ‘turned the tide on early-onset gastrointestinal cancers’ but says it will take a ‘collective effort’ to help reduce deaths.

He said: “The desire to protect Americans from substances that cause cancer and other diseases should transcend party affiliation and political motivation to overcome industrial lobbying efforts. This was possible with tobacco, and it is possible with food.”