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Survival from teenage and young adult cancer in Northern England, 1968–2008
Author(s) -
Basta N.O.,
James P.W.,
GomezPozo B.,
Craft A.W.,
Norman P.,
McNally R.J.Q.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
pediatric blood and cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.116
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1545-5017
pISSN - 1545-5009
DOI - 10.1002/pbc.24939
Subject(s) - medicine , cancer , proportional hazards model , young adult , survival analysis , gastroenterology , lymphoma
Abstract Background 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. Methods 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. Results 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 ( P < 0.001), for patients with leukemia from 2% to 71% ( P < 0.001), lymphoma from 66% to 86% ( P < 0.001), central nervous system tumors from 53% to 84% ( P < 0.001), bone tumors from 29% to 72% ( P < 0.001), germ cell tumors from 39% to 94% ( P < 0.001), melanoma and skin cancer from 64% to 100% ( P < 0.001), and carcinomas from 48% to 80% ( P < 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, P < 0.001), for patients aged 20–24 years compared with those aged 15–19 years (HR = 0.84; 95% CI 0.75–0.94, P = 0.002), but survival was worse for patients who resided in more deprived areas (HR = 1.06; 95% CI 1.01–1.11, P = 0.025). Conclusion 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.