Chadwick Boseman

The jab, being developed by researchers at the University of Oxford, aims to bolster the immune system to hunt and destroy abnormal cells that will one day develop into cancer. It is aimed specifically at patients with bowel cancer caused by a genetic mutation known as Lynch syndrome - which increases the risk of the disease by 80 per cent. Some 1,100 bowel cancer cases in England each year are caused by Lynch syndrome, mostly in people aged under 50. Those with the genetic trait are far more likely to be diagnosed at a much younger age than average. The move comes just months after experts continued to express their ongoing concern over an 'epidemic' of bowel cancers, of which colon cancers are a sub-type, among young people. One of the recognised victims of the trend is Deborah James (inset) - known as 'bowel babe' - who was diagnosed at just 35 and raised millions for charity in her final days in 2022. James spoke of her rigorous exercise routine, and being in the best shape of her life when she developed the illness. Another example of seemingly fit and health women being hit by the disease was Zu Rafalat (right), of Finsbury Park, London , who died in 2020 aged 39.

A Swedish study shows rates of skin cancer are on the decline among young people, bucking a trend of rising cases of some types of the disease, and a pattern that is also being replicated in the UK.

Experts have warned the global burden of cancer in men is set to rapidly rise in the coming decades if nothing is done to address the causes in a study using data from 185 nations. An estimated 19million cancer cases are predicted to be diagnosed in 2050 if current trends continue, up from 10million recorded in 2022. Cancer deaths are predicted to soar even higher, going from 5million in 2022 to over 10million by 2050, a rise of 93 per cent. While older men are predicted to account for the majority of fatalities in a pattern linked to ageing population, experts also predicted a concerning spike in young men being killed by the disease in the years to come. Male celebrities have also been caught in the rising pattern of increasing cancer cases in the young, known medically as 'early-onset' cancer, when the disease strikes people under the age of 50. Black Panther actor Chadwick Boseman (left) is one, having been killed by colon cancer at 43. Whereas Star Wars actor Ewan McGregor (top right), who in 2008 revealed he had a cancerous mole removed from just below his right eye is another younger man hit by cancer.