This section provides recent analyses that are not available elsewhere. Please acknowledge this source when citing information below
Adolescent and young adult (AYA) Americans have unique health challenges, including suicide, firearm access, substance access and abuse, and opioid and other drug overdose. Cancer in AYAs has also not had the attention, research, and progress that younger and older persons have had.
CDC WONDER* data analyzed by Archie Bleyer, MD
*Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research https://wonder.cdc.gov/ucd-icd10.html
The impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on cancer incidence and survival in adolescent and young adults (AYAs, age 15-39) in the U.S. is obvious in the San Franciso/Oakland SMSA of the SEER 9 Registries. The solid curves indicate all invasive cancer. The dotted curves eliminate Kaposi sarcoma and non-Burkitt non-Hodgkin lymphoma in males that were markedly increased during the HIV/AID epidemic) and thyroid cancer in both females and males (to eliminate the overdiagnosis effect on both incidence and survival), the HIV/AIDS effect can be minimized and a more indicative trend of progress demonstrated.
Ten publications in the peer-reviewed medical literature since 2006 that adjust the incidence and survival rates for the HIV/AIDS-related cancer are available by clicking here or the title.
In the U.S., AYAs, cancer has declined from the #2 cause of death in 1969 to #4 in 2014, tied with homicides. After firearm deaths, accidents still kill far more AYAs than any other cause, and since 1992 has not improved. Suicide in AYAs has increased from the 5th most common cause to the 2nd, and is the only common cause that has increased since 2000. HIV deaths, which reach epidemic levels in 1994, was the 2nd most common cause from 1992 to 1996. Homicides in males also peaked during the HIV epidemic, during which it was the 2nd most common cause of death in AYA males. Heart disease, which was the 2nd most common cause of death due to disease for a few years, has been the 5th or 6th most common cause of death in AYAs since 1975.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Multiple Cause of Death 1999-2015 on CDC WONDER Online Database, released December, 2016. Data are from the Multiple Cause of Death Files, 1999-2015, as compiled from data provided by the 57 vital statistics jurisdictions through the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program. Accessed at http://wonder.cdc.gov/mcd-icd10.html on Jun 25, 2017 10:36:28 AM
The sites within the longitudinal axis of the GI tract from the esophagus to the anus that are least likely to develop adenocarcinoma in AYAs are the small intestine and the anus/anorectum/anal canal. Approximately 50 cases of each gastric adenocarcinoma and 10 of anal adenocarcinoma occur in AYAs on an average annual basis in the U.S..
To access the chart and related information, click the title of this section (above)