Long-Term Risks Examined for Survivors of Adolescent, Young Adult Hematologic Cancers

MONDAY, March 21, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Survivors of adolescent and young adult (AYA) hematological cancers have an increased risk of second malignant neoplasms, hospitalizations, and overall mortality, according to a study published online Feb. 25 in Frontiers in Oncology.

Annalisa Trama, M.D., Ph.D., from the Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori in Milan, Italy, and colleagues examined long-term outcomes for AYA survivors of hematological cancers. Patients diagnosed with a first primary hematological cancer between 1997 and 2006 in the Italian nationwide population-based cohort of AYA cancer survivors were selected. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs), standardized hospitalization rate ratios (SHRs), and standardized mortality rate ratios (SMRs) were calculated for 5,042 AYA hematological cancer survivors: 1,237 with a leukemia diagnosis and 3,805 with a lymphoma diagnosis.

The researchers found that AYA survivors had a significantly increased risk for secondary malignant neoplasms, hospitalizations, and overall mortality (SIR, 2.1; SHR, 1.5; and SMR, 1.4, respectively), with differences seen for leukemia and lymphoma survivors. Infectious diseases, respiratory diseases, and diseases of blood and blood-forming organs had the highest excess risks for hospitalizations. Over time, the morbidity patterns differed by morbidity type.

"Our study, assessing multiple types of morbidities, has highlighted that survivors of adolescent and young adult hematological cancers face persistent risks (at least 20 years from diagnosis) for a broad range of diseases, underscoring the need for strict evidence-based follow-up plans for survivors, designed to increase the likelihood of early detection and ultimately prevent chronic treatment-induced conditions," the authors write.

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