More people under 50 are being diagnosed with cancer than thirty years ago. Here’s what the numbers say, when screening starts in Germany and Switzerland, and what a whole-body MRI looks at and what it doesn’t.
Cancer before 50: what the numbers show
In 1990, around 1.8 million people under 50 were newly diagnosed with cancer worldwide. By 2019 the figure was around 3.3 million, a rise of 79%. The numbers come from an analysis in BMJ Oncology, where researchers pooled data on 29 cancer types from 204 countries and regions. Deaths in the same age group rose by just under 28%, to a little over a million a year.
The picture varies by cancer type. Breast cancer made up the most cases in under-50s in 2019. Cancer of the nasopharynx, the upper throat behind the nose, and prostate cancer rose fastest, by a little over 2% a year, while liver cancer fell by almost 3% a year. Deaths rose most steeply for kidney and ovarian cancer. The highest rates were in North America, Australasia and Western Europe.
Two caveats. The 79% counts cases, not any one person’s risk. And the researchers note that the quality of cancer registries varies from country to country, and that it’s unclear how much more screening and early-life exposures are shaping the trend. They name diet, alcohol and tobacco as the main risk factors, along with inactivity, excess weight and high blood sugar.
Diagnoses have risen. Why is only partly understood.
When screening starts in Germany and Switzerland
In Germany, people on statutory health insurance are entitled to several cancer screening checks, but most start late. Women can have a smear test for cervical cancer from 20, and a breast examination is added from 30. From 35, everyone can have a skin cancer check every two years. Men are still entitled to a yearly physical exam of the prostate and genitals from 45, although the current guideline no longer recommends it for early detection. Bowel cancer screening follows at 50, along with mammography for women, and since 1 April 2026 there’s also a yearly low-dose lung CT for people aged 50 to 75 with a long history of heavy smoking.
Statutory cancer screening in Germany: from what age
When entitlement begins for people on statutory health insurance, as of March 2026.
Under 50, screening therefore relies mainly on smear tests, physical exams and skin checks. The examinations that look deeper inside the body begin at 50.
In Switzerland, the benchmark is the recommendations of the Swiss Cancer League (Krebsliga Schweiz): mammography programmes for women aged 50 to 74 and bowel cancer screening from 50 to 74, using a stool test every two years or a colonoscopy every ten. The programmes are run by the cantons, and not every canton offers one. For skin and prostate cancer, the League doesn’t recommend systematic screening for people without raised risk.
Starting ages differ around the world. In the US, the Preventive Services Task Force has recommended bowel cancer screening from 45 since 2021, partly because cases in younger adults have been rising. In Germany and Switzerland the starting age is 50.
What a whole-body MRI looks at
MRI uses magnetic fields and radio waves rather than X-rays, and the Aeon Full Body check-up needs no contrast agent either. The scan covers the brain, chest, aorta and major blood vessels, all major organs, the pelvis, the full spine including the discs, lymph nodes, throat, shoulders and hips. The organs include, for example, the kidneys, liver and pancreas. In the pelvis there’s a basic check of the prostate and testicles, or of the uterus and ovaries.
There’s no screening programme for kidney or pancreatic cancer in Germany or Switzerland. The statutory programmes cover the breast, bowel, cervix, skin, lung and prostate. The reason is a lack of proof that screening people without symptoms does more good than harm. For the pancreas, the US Preventive Services Task Force found no evidence that screening lowers deaths and judged the potential harms to be at least moderate. Its advice applies to people without raised risk, such as inherited syndromes. For kidney cancer, a systematic review by a working group of the European Association of Urology found no high-quality evidence that screening symptom-free people reduces illness or deaths. A whole-body MRI images these organs, and doctors review the pictures. But showing an organ on an image isn’t proof that screening it helps. Aeon Full Body includes a doctor consultation, a blood pressure check and a doctor-reviewed report. For more on what a scan can and can’t tell you, see our article What a full-body MRI can and can’t tell you.
What an MRI doesn’t replace, and what the studies say
A whole-body MRI doesn’t replace any of the standard screening checks. Here’s why.
| Screening check | What it does that an MRI doesn’t |
|---|---|
| Colonoscopy or stool test | A colonoscopy looks directly inside the bowel, and the stool test looks for hidden blood. Both belong to programmes with a proven benefit. |
| Mammography | It’s part of a quality-assured programme, and its benefit has been studied. |
| Skin check | A doctor examines moles and skin by eye. An MRI isn’t designed for that. |
| Cervical smear | The smear tests cells and HPV. An MRI shows tissue, not individual cells. |
The research itself adds a note of caution. A 2026 analysis in European Radiology pooled ten studies of around 9,000 adults without symptoms and found cancer confirmed in about 1.6 in every 100 people scanned. The authors point to frequent incidental findings, inconsistent scanning protocols and a lack of long-term data. In their view, the results, follow-up and standardisation aren’t yet enough to support routine use in people without symptoms.
Worth knowing
If you have a whole-body MRI without symptoms, you’re making a personal choice, not joining a screening programme.
Incidental findings and false alarms are a known issue with scans like this. Our article on sensitivity and specificity explains what they mean.
Who might want to look earlier
Two reasons stand out. The first is family history. If close relatives were diagnosed young, a conversation with your GP is the first step. The Swiss Cancer League advises people at higher risk to ask a medical professional when screening makes sense for them, for bowel and breast cancer alike, and for prostate cancer from 40 if a first-degree relative has been diagnosed.
The second is wanting a baseline: to know what your body looks like today so you can compare later. That’s a personal choice, not a medical necessity, and talking it through first helps you weigh the benefits and limits for yourself.
Conclusion
Cancer is more common in older age, but diagnoses in people under 50 have risen worldwide, and the reasons are only partly understood. Statutory screening covers only some cancers before 50, mostly through smear tests, physical exams and skin checks. There’s no programme for the kidneys or pancreas because a benefit hasn’t been shown. A whole-body MRI images these regions, but it doesn’t replace any existing check, and on today’s evidence it isn’t a routine for everyone. If it interests you, what counts is your own picture: family history, your questions, the wish for a baseline. The free consultation is a good place to talk it through before you book.
Frequently asked questions
Am I too young to worry about cancer at 40?
Cancer can happen at any age, though it’s more common later in life. The study shows more diagnoses in under-50s worldwide, but it says nothing about one person’s risk. If you’ve got questions about yours, your GP is the right first stop.
What’s the difference between a screening programme and a whole-body MRI?
A screening programme invites a defined group at set ages and follows quality standards. A whole-body MRI is a personal check-up outside any programme, and there’s no long-term outcome data yet for people without symptoms.
Does a whole-body MRI show every type of cancer?
No. No method shows every cancer at every stage, and that includes MRI. Changes that are too small, or that lie outside the regions examined, won’t appear on the images, and a result only describes the day of the scan.
What happens if the scan shows something unusual?
The finding goes into a doctor-reviewed report and is talked through with you. Incidental findings are common in scans like this, which is why each one is looked at in context. What happens next depends on the finding, and you’ll work that out together in the consultation.
Does a whole-body MRI involve radiation?
No. MRI uses magnetic fields and radio waves, not X-rays. The Aeon Full Body check-up uses no contrast agent either.
Sources
- Zhao et al., BMJ Oncology 2023: case numbers, deaths and risk factors for cancer under 50, 1990 to 2019.
- BMJ Group, press release of 5 September 2023: the cancer types with the steepest rise, and the limits of the analysis.
- Verbraucherzentrale, Früherkennung: Diese Vorsorgeuntersuchungen stehen Ihnen zu: when statutory entitlements begin in Germany, as of 31 March 2026 (in German).
- Gemeinsamer Bundesausschuss, Früherkennung von Krebserkrankungen: which cancers the statutory programme covers (in German).
- Krebsliga Schweiz, recommendations on cancer screening, 2023: recommendations for Switzerland and advice for people at higher risk (in German).
- Davidson et al., JAMA 2021: the US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation on bowel cancer screening from 45.
- Martins da Fonseca et al., European Radiology 2026: analysis of ten studies of whole-body MRI in people without symptoms.
- Verbraucherzentrale, PSA-Test zur Prostatakrebs-Früherkennung: the physical prostate exam is no longer recommended for early detection (in German).
- Owens et al., JAMA 2019: US recommendation against pancreatic cancer screening in people without symptoms.
- EAU Young Academic Urologists, Screening programs for renal cell carcinoma: systematic review: no proven benefit of kidney cancer screening in people without symptoms.
