Investigators at the National Cancer Institute analyzed survival trends related to cancers with the highest mortality rates in adolescents and young adults.
‘The survival rate for adolescents and young adults diagnosed with cancer depends on the type of cancer they have.’
Relying on information from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) cancer registry and the National Center for Health Statistics, the team focused on incidence, mortality, and survival rates for nine cancer types from 1975-2016.
They were able to identify those cancers with the greatest need for future research by examining survival rates over time among adolescents and young adults with the most lethal forms of cancer.
“As the SEER cancer data collection expands over time, including more years of diagnosis, we are able to piece together a larger part of the cancer survival story for the adolescent and young adult population in the United States,” said lead author Denise Riedel Lewis, PhD, MPH.
The investigators also revealed that significant improvements in 5-year survival for young patients with brain and other nervous system tumors, colon and rectum cancer, lung and bronchus cancer, acute myelogenous leukemia, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Limited or no improvement in survival was found for those with female breast cancer, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, and bone/joint sarcomas.
These results will help to refocus research efforts on adolescent and young adult cancer survivorship.
Source: Medindia
