The rate of cancer among U.S. adolescents and young adults increased nearly 30 percent from 1973 to 2015, with kidney carcinoma rising at the largest rate, according to a JAMA Network study published Dec. 1
Researchers identified 497,452 AYAs between the ages of 15 and 39 using registry data from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database from Jan. 1, 1973, to Dec. 31, 2015. Nearly 41 percent of participants were men and 59 percent were women. During the study period, the annual rate of cancer in AYAs rose from 57.2 to 74.2 diagnoses per 100,000 AYAs — 29.6 percent.
Breast carcinoma and testicular cancer were the most frequently diagnosed cancers in women and men, respectively. A total of 54,414 men and 196,700 women were diagnosed with carcinomas, making it the most common type of cancer diagnosis.
"Environmental factors, dietary and obesity trends, and changes in screening practices are three major categories that likely played a role in the increasing rate of cancer in AYAs from 1973 to 2015," the study said.