Adolescent and young adult oncology—past, present, and future
Open accessAbstract
There are nearly 70,000 new cancer diagnoses made annually in adolescents and young adults (AYAs) in the United States. Historically, AYA patients with cancer, aged 15 to 39 years, have not shown the same improved survival as older or younger cohorts. This article reviews the contemporary cancer incidence and survival data through 2015 for the AYA patient population based on the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results registry program and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries. Mortality data through 2016 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics are also described. Encouragingly, absolute and relative increases in 5‐year survival for AYA cancers have paralleled those of childhood cancers since the year 2000. There has been increasing attention to these vulnerable patients and improved partnerships and collaboration between adult and pediatric oncology; however, obstacles to the care of this population still occur at multiple levels. These vulnerabilities fall into 3 significant categories: research efforts and trial enrollment directed toward AYA malignancies, access to care and insurance coverage, and AYA‐specific psychosocial support. It is critical for providers and health care delivery systems to recognize that the AYA population remains vulnerable to provider and societal complacency.
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For young adult cancer survivors, persistent post-treatment physical symptoms and emotional distress occur during a critical developmental period and can disrupt education, autonomy, career, peer and romantic relationships, and family building.
“For YA cancer survivors, persistent post-treatment physical symptoms and emotional distress occur during a critical developmental period and can disrupt YA’s abilities to complete their education, achieve autonomy and independence, build their careers, establish peer and romantic relationships, and build their families [14].”
From Improving symptom management for survivors of young adult cancer: rationale and study protocol for a pilot randomized controlled trial (2024) · cites this paper as [14]
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Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe intervention was also designed to be accessible for YA cancer survivors who are often juggling other competing life demands, including their careers and families.
“The intervention was also designed to be accessible for YA cancer survivors who are often juggling other competing life demands, including their careers and families [14].”
From Improving symptom management for survivors of young adult cancer: rationale and study protocol for a pilot randomized controlled trial (2024) · cites this paper as [14]
The Psychosocial Factors section (page unavailable) reports that AYA patients may have difficulty holding a job and maintaining mature relationships during and after cancer. This supports the relevance of work and relationships, but it does not establish that survivors often juggle career and family demands. The intervention’s design is the citing authors’ own description, not a claim this source can verify. (LLM, conf=0.78)
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“The intervention was also designed to be accessible for YA cancer survivors who are often juggling other competing life demands, including their careers and families [14].”
Background
- Authors
- Close, A. G., Dreyzin, A., Miller, K. D., Seynnaeve, B. K. N., & Rapkin, L. B.
- Affiliations
- Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh (US)
- University of Pittsburgh (US)
- American Cancer Society (US)
- Corresponding author
- Rapkin, Louis B.
- Venue
- CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2019-10-08
- Volume
- 69
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 485-496
- ISSN
- 0007-9235 (ISSN-L)
- 1542-4863
- OpenAlex
- W2980119731
- Cited by
- 225
- References
- 65
- Citations by year
- 2026: 14 · 2025: 31 · 2024: 34 · 2023: 36 · 2022: 43 · 2021: 46 · 2020: 20
- FWCI
- 28.33
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- CA A Cancer Journal for Clinicians (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Childhood Cancer Survivors' Quality of Life
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Global Cancer Incidence and Screening
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia research
- Keywords
- adolescent and young adult cancer, cancer incidence, cancer survival, cancer mortality, SEER database, transition to adult care, clinical trial recruitment, health insurance coverage, access to cancer care, psychosocial support, health disparities
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Age Factors, Humans, Medical Oncology, Neoplasms, United States, Incidence, Survival Rate, SEER Program, Young Adult
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