Survival from teenage and young adult cancer in Northern England, 1968–2008. Issue 5 (16th January 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Basta, N.O.; James, P.W.; Gomez‐Pozo, B.; Craft, A.W.; Norman, P.; McNally, R.J.Q.
• Is Part Of: Pediatric blood & cancer. Volume 61:Issue 5(2014:May)
• Page Start: 901
• Page End: 906
• Publication Date: 2014-01-16
• Subjects: Tumors in children -- Periodicals; Blood -- Diseases -- Periodicals; Cancer in children -- Periodicals; 618.92
• DOI: 10.1002/pbc.24939
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1545-5009

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" xml:lang="en"> <title>Abstract</title> <sec id="pbc24939-sec-0001" sec-type="section"> <title>Background</title> <p>Although cancer is relatively rare in teenagers and young adults (TYAs) aged 15–24 years, it is a major cause of death in this age group. This study investigated survival trends in TYA cancer diagnosed in Northern England, 1968–2008.</p> </sec> <sec id="pbc24939-sec-0002" sec-type="section"> <title>Methods</title> <p>Five‐year survival was analyzed using Kaplan–Meier estimation for four successive time periods. Cox regression analysis was used to investigate associations with demographic factors.</p> </sec> <sec id="pbc24939-sec-0003" sec-type="section"> <title>Results</title> <p>The study included 2, 987 cases (1, 634 males, 1, 353 females). Five‐year survival for all patients with cancer improved greatly from 46% in 1968–1977 to 84% in 1998–2008 (<italic>P</italic> < 0.001), for patients with leukemia from 2% to 71% (<italic>P</italic> < 0.001), lymphoma from 66% to 86% (<italic>P</italic> < 0.001), central nervous system tumors from 53% to 84% (<italic>P</italic> < 0.001), bone tumors from 29% to 72% (<italic>P</italic> < 0.001), germ cell tumors from 39% to 94% (<italic>P</italic> < 0.001), melanoma and skin cancer from 64% to 100% (<italic>P</italic> < 0.001), and carcinomas from 48% to 80% (<italic>P</italic> < 0.001). Cox analysis showed that for all patients with cancer, survival was better for females than males (HR = 0.83; 95% CI 0.74–0.94, <italic>P</italic> < 0.001), for patients aged 20–24 years compared with those aged 15–19 years (HR = 0.84; 95% CI 0.75–0.94, <italic>P</italic> = 0.002), but survival was worse for patients who resided in more deprived areas (HR = 1.06; 95% CI 1.01–1.11, <italic>P</italic> = 0.025).</p> </sec> <sec id="pbc24939-sec-0004" sec-type="section"> <title>Conclusion</title> <p>There have been large improvements in TYA cancer survival in Northern England over the last four decades. Future work should determine factors that could lead to even better survival, including possible links with delayed diagnosis. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2014;61:901–906. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.</p> </sec> </abstract>