Teen cancer sufferers enjoy improved survival
Thursday August 27th, 2009
Teenagers and young adults diagnosed with blood-related cancers today have better long-term survival rates than those who were diagnosed in the 1980s, US researchers have found.
But survival rates among 15-24-year-olds with leukaemias and lymphomas are still lower than those seen in younger children, presenting a major challenge to the medical world.
The study, led by Dr Dianne Pulte of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, analysed figures from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database, a population-based cancer registry in the United States.
The team of researchers compared SEER data from 1981-1985 with data from 2001-2005 and found that the 10-year survival rates increased from 80.4 per cent to 93.4 per cent among adolescents and young adults with Hodgkin's lymphoma; from 55.6 per cent to 76.2 per cent for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma; from 30.5 per cent to 52.1 per cent for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia; from 15.2 per cent to 45.1 per cent for acute myeloblastic leukaemia; and from 0 per cent to 74.5 per cent for chronic myelocytic leukaemia.
The findings, published in CANCER, the journal of the American Cancer Society, also reveal that while survival improved steadily over the two decades for the lymphomas and chronic myelocytic leukaemia, it remained stable during the late 1990s and early 21st century for the acute leukaemias.
However, with the exception of Hodgkin's lymphoma, survival in adolescents and young adults still lags behind survival in children and, in the case of acute myeloblastic leukaemia, behind survival in older adults.
"More research into how to treat these diseases and how to make sure that all patients have access to the best treatment is needed," said Dr Pulte.
Trends in survival after diagnosis with hematologic malignancy in adolescence or young adulthood in the United States, 1981-2005. Dianne Pulte, Adam Gondos, and Hermann Brenner. CANCER; Published Online: August 24, 2009 (DOI: 10.1002/cncr.24548); Print Issue Date: November 1, 2009.
Tags: Cancer | Child Health | North America
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