Leading doctors have warned of a mysterious new “epidemic” of abdominal cancers in younger people.

Following the Princess of Wales’s announcement of her diagnosis on Friday, specialist clinicians have said that in recent years they have seen a significant increase in under-45s presenting with cancers typically seen in older patients.

Many are fit and outwardly healthy, prompting a scramble among scientists to establish what is causing the trend.

One study that looked at data from Northern Ireland between 1993 and 2019 found the rate of early-onset cancers increased by 20.5 per cent, the equivalent of about 7,000 extra cases a year across the UK.

These cancers include those that come under the umbrella term “abdominal”.

The Princess has not revealed what type of cancer she is receiving treatment for. However, her statement on Friday said it was discovered following abdominal surgery in January.

‘They’re not thinking about cancer’

Prof Andrew Beggs, a consultant colorectal surgeon and a senior clinical fellow at the University of Birmingham, runs a clinic for cancer patients under the age of 45.

“When I started as a cancer surgeon 20 years ago, you rarely saw any younger patients, but now I see them regularly,” he said.

“When they turn up they are shocked, because often they haven’t had any symptoms and because of their age they are not thinking about cancer.”

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