Young adult cancer survivors at twice the risk of later cancers, study suggests – CBC

Researchers say cancer survivors diagnosed between 15 and 39 face a higher risk of new cancers later

Apr 13, 2026

Cancer experts say a new study highlights the need for more support and screening of people who survived cancer as adolescents and young adults, as they face an increased risk of getting cancer again later in life.

Senior author Miranda Fidler-Benaoudia, a cancer epidemiologist at the University of Calgary and Cancer Care Alberta, said the research tracked the development of new cancers — not recurrences of the original disease — in Alberta patients first diagnosed between the ages of 15 and 39.

The study, published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, found they were twice as likely to develop another cancer than the general population.

One of the main suspected causes of subsequent cancers is treatment used for the first one, she said.

Young adult cancer survivors at twice the risk of later cancers, study suggests – CBC

NationTalk Partners & Sponsors Learn More