News
More teens, adults in their 30s, 40s being diagnosed with cancer in S'pore: Report
Older adults still account for the majority of cancer cases but incidence rates among younger age groups have increased sharply.
January 27, 2026, 12:31 PM
Cancer diagnoses among young people in Singapore are on the rise, according to the latest Singapore Cancer Registry annual report published in January 2026.
National data showed a steady rise in cancer diagnoses among teenagers and adults under 40 over the past two decades.
The latter category saw a significant rise of 34 per cent between 2019 and 2023, compared to between 2003 and 2007.
"In recent years, the most rapid increase in age-specific incidence rates (ASPIRs) of cancer was observed in younger age groups (under 50 years of age)," the report said.
The report noted that the greatest increases were among males aged 30 to 39 and females aged 40 to 49.
Most common cancers
For those aged 29 and below, lymphoid neoplasms — cancers of the immune system's lymphocytes, which include lymphomas and leukaemias — had the highest incidence among cancers for both genders.
Lymphoid neoplasms accounted for 30.2 per cent of male cases, and 19.6 per cent of female cases of people under 30.
The chart diverges in the 30 to 39 age range, as breast cancer becomes the most common cancer for women at 31.3 per cent, while lymphoid neoplasms remain the top for men at 12.6 per cent.
In the 40 to 49 age group, the most common cancer for men was colorectal cancer at 16.8 per cent, while breast cancer was the most common cancer at a staggering 46.4 per cent.
For men, prostate cancer eventually emerges as the most common cancer from the 60 to 69 age group at 20 per cent, reaching a high of 25.6 per cent in the 70 to 79 age group.
Still primarily a disease of old age
Despite the rise in incidence among younger people, cancer remains primarily a disease of old age, the report said.
The majority of cancer cases are diagnosed in adults over 50.
Incidence of cancer increases markedly in the 40 to 49 age group, and accelerates from there, the report noted.
Amid an ageing population, the median age of diagnosis has also risen for both men and women, from 59.6 to 69.1 years for men, and from 57.3 to 64.6 years for women.
Top photo from Olga Kononenko/Unsplash
