Incidence Trends of Cervical Cancer in Adolescents and Young Adults: Brazilian Population Based Data

Cancer Burden in Adolescents and Young Adults: A Review of Epidemiological Evidence

Cancer burden in adolescents and young adults (AYAs) is expressed through a large proportion of the quality of life lost on individual level and also causes losses to the society in terms of a decreased productivity and social structure. A specific cancer spectrum and distinctive needs of AYA patients require targeted studies and cancer control measures. Incidence is intermediate between that for children and for older adults, and two-thirds of the AYA cancers affect women. Cancers of the breast and cervix uteri, representing a large portion of the burden, are amenable to prevention. Survival is relatively high, but it is lower in AYA patients with certain cancers that are common in childhood or older adulthood. Tailored cancer care with centralized multidisciplinary provision improves the outcome, as demonstrated by survival of leukemia patients. Mortality is decreasing in high-income countries for the cancers that contribute to the burden most, but lack of progress is seen for some rarer subtypes, such as brain tumors and sarcomas of the bone and soft tissue. There is unacceptable lack of information on cancer burden in low-income countries in which the outcomes for AYA patients are likely dreadful. Investment is required to establish cancer registration system and appropriate cancer care delivery in these settings.

Cancer Incidence in Adolescents and Young Adults in 24 Selected Populations of Latin America

OBJECTIVE

Describe incidence rates for the most common cancers in Latin American adolescents and young adults (AYA).

METHODS

Incidence data were extracted from the Cancer Incidence in Five Continents series, available online (IARC). Age-standardized incidence rates and trend analysis were calculated. Trends were calculated by joinpoint regression analysis to obtain average annual percentage change values.

RESULTS

There were 22,990 invasive incident cancer cases in AYA between 1998 and 2007, obtained from 24 population-based cancer registries. The most common cancer in males was gonadal germ cell tumor, with incidence rates ranging from 1.7 to 7.0/100,000; in females the most common cancer was thyroid cancer, with rates ranging from 0.9 to 10.0/100,000. Incidence trends were limited to four regional populations and increased for all malignancies, in males from 1.8% to 3.4% and in females from 0.9% to 1.8%.

CONCLUSIONS

Cancer incidence rates in Latin American AYA are low. There are few PBCRs with long-term data, and therefore, the results herein presented are a partial view of cancer in Latin American AYA populations.