Young Adult Blood Cancer Survivors Face increased Risk Of Death For Decades After Treatment

Healthcare Young Adult Blood Cancer Survivors Face increased Risk Of Death For Decades After Treatment Victoria Forster Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Cancer research scientist and childhood cancer survivor. May 27, 2022, 03:21pm EDT | Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Young adults with blood cancer who are successfully treated face an increased risk of dying for .

. . [+] several decades afterwards according to new research.

getty Young adults who have survived leukemia have higher mortality rates than people in the general population, even for decades after their treatment, according to a new study. The research published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention , found that 10 years after treatment, adolescents and young adults (age 15-39 at diagnosis) who had been successfully treated for leukemia were 10 percent less likely to be alive than similarly aged people in the general population. “These patients go through so many challenges during their cancer treatment, and it also appears that they’re going through many more challenges during survivorship,” said Michael Roth, MD, senior author of the paper and co-director of the Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Oncology Program at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

The study looked at over 4,000 people who had survived their cancer for 5 years or more, including 1,938 lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) survivors and 2,350 acute myeloid leukemia (AML) survivors. Survival for adolescents and young adults with leukemia has improved over the past few decades, with people diagnosed from the 1990’s onwards living twice as long as those diagnosed in the 1980’s. However, the therapies required for successful treatment often come with long-term side effects.

“The mortality of AML survivors continues to increase many decades post treatment, most likely because the majority of these patients undergo stem cell transplant, which is associated with a very high risk and number of late side effects,” said Roth. Leukemias are also often treated with a cocktail of chemotherapy agents which can result in long-term health effects on the heart, lungs, brain, bones and hormone system. “Cancer is the leading cause of non-accidental death in AYAs,” said Emily Drake, PhD candidate in Health in the Faculty of Health at Dalhousie University, Canada who was not involved in the study, but has worked in the AYA research field for over a decade.

“This study highlights the importance of survivorship care, psychosocial support, and also the need to consider patients’ intersecting identities. ” MORE FOR YOU CDC: Salmonella Outbreak Has Left 279 Ill, 26 Hospitalized In 29 States Canadians End Up In ICU After Attending ‘Covid Party’ White House Mandates Pfizer Vaccines for Millions of Citizens . .

. Before the FDA Clinical or Safety Reviews Have Been Made Public Drake explains that AYAs with cancer are a marginalized group in cancer research and cancer care, as systems are often designed to treat pediatric or older adult patients. They also tend to experience delayed diagnosis and are often diagnosed at a more advanced stage of disease.

“These systems are not designed to focus on unique issues, for example cancer biology, clinical trials, psychosocial issues, which are specific to this age group. Research has found that these patients also often to not receive age-appropriate care,” said Drake. This general lack of care compared to both older and younger cancer patients also extends to survivorship care, which often covers what happens to people after they have finished treatment.

Drake runs a social media scheme called Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Social Media (#AYACSM), which she co-founded in 2013 and which runs monthly tweet chats to encourage dialogue about topics related to AYA cancers. “Understanding the lived experience of cancer care delivery and survivorship care is pivotal to improve their quality of care through the development of AYA-specific policies and programs, including health professional education,” said Drake. “It is not just important to cure them [AYAs] of their initial cancer, but also to consider their long-term lifespan and quality of life, to make sure they are living long, healthy, and happy lives afterward,” said Roth.

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