BACKGROUND:Adolescents and young adults (AYA) ages 15 to 29 years who are diagnosed with cancer are at risk for long‐term morbidity and mortality associated with treatment of their cancer and the cancer itself. In this article, the authors describe the self‐reported health status of AYA cancer survivors.METHODS:The authors examined 2009 data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, including demographic characteristics, risk behaviors, chronic conditions, health status, and health care access, among AYA cancer survivors compared with respondents who had no history of cancer.RESULTS:The authors identified 4054 AYA cancer survivors and 345,592 respondents who had no history of cancer. AYA cancer survivors, compared with respondents who had no history of cancer, reported a significantly higher prevalence of current smoking (26% vs 18%); obesity (31% vs 27%); chronic conditions, including cardiovascular disease (14% vs 7%), hypertension (35% vs 29%), asthma (15% vs 8%), disability (36% vs 18%), and poor mental health (20% vs 10%) and physical health (24% vs 10%); and not receiving medical care because of cost (24% vs 15%).CONCLUSIONS:AYA cancer survivors commonly reported adverse behavioral, medical, and health care access characteristics that may lead to poor long‐term medical and psychosocial outcomes. Increased adherence to established follow‐up guidelines may lead to improved health among AYA cancer survivors. Cancer 2012. © 2012 American Cancer Society.

OBJECTIVES Cancer continues to be the leading disease-related cause of death among children and adolescents in the United States. More current information is needed to describe recent cancer trends and identify demographic and geographic variations. METHODS We analyzed data from the National Program of Cancer Registries and Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results statewide registries representing 94.2% of the US population to identify cancers diagnosed among persons aged 0 to 19 years during 2001–2009. Age-adjusted rates and annual percentage change for trends were calculated. Data were stratified by age, gender, race, ethnicity, and geography. RESULTS We identified 120 137 childhood and adolescent cancer cases during 2001–2009 with an age-adjusted incidence rate of 171.01 per million. The overall rate of all cancers combined remained stable over time (annual percent change [APC], 0.3%; 95% confidence interval [CI], −0.1 to 0.7). There was an increase in the overall cancer trend among African American children and adolescents (APC, 1.3%; 95% CI, 0.2 to 2.5). An increasing trend for thyroid cancer was observed among both genders (APC, 4.9%; 95% CI, 3.2 to 6.6) and specifically among adolescents and those in the Northeast, South, and West regions of the United States. Renal carcinoma incidence was increasing significantly overall (APC, 5.4%; 95% CI, 2.8 to 8.1). Extracranial and extragonadal germ cell tumors and melanoma were both significantly decreasing. CONCLUSIONS This study reports the novel finding that renal carcinoma rates are increasing among children and adolescents. This study confirms that thyroid cancer rates are increasing and further describes rising cancer rates among African Americans.

CONTEXT Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can affect health and well-being across the life course. OBJECTIVE This systematic review summarizes the literature on associations between ACEs and risk of cancer in adulthood. DATA SOURCES We searched PubMed to identify relevant publications published on or before May 31, 2015. STUDY SELECTION We included original research quantifying the association between ACEs and adult cancer incidence. Case reports and reviews were excluded. DATA ABSTRACTION Two reviewers independently abstracted and summarized key information (eg, ACE type, cancer type, risk estimates) from included studies and resolved all discrepancies. RESULTS Twelve studies were included in the review. In studies in which ACE summary scores were calculated, significant associations were observed between the scores and an increased risk of cancer in adulthood. Of the different types of ACEs examined, physical and psychological abuse victimization were associated with risk of any cancer in 3 and 2 studies, respectively. Two studies also reported significant associations with regard to sexual abuse victimization (1 for cervical cancer and 1 for any cancer). However, 2 other studies reported no significant associations between childhood sexual or physical abuse and incidence of cervical or breast cancer. LIMITATIONS Because of heterogeneity across studies, we were unable to compute a summary effect estimate. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that childhood adversity in various forms may increase a person’s cancer risk. Further research is needed to understand the mechanisms driving this relationship and to identify opportunities to prevent and mitigate the deleterious effects of early adversity on long-term health.

Purpose Given the importance of psychosocial care for cancer survivors, this study used population-based data to characterize survivors who reported a discussion with health care provider(s) about the psychosocial effects of cancer and who reported using professional counseling or support groups (PCSG) and tested associations between receipt of psychosocial care and satisfaction with care. Patients and Methods We examined survivors of adult cancers from the 2010 National Health Interview Survey (N = 1,777). Multivariable logistic regression models examined factors associated with receipt of and satisfaction with psychosocial care. Results Most survivors (55.1%) reported neither provider discussions nor use of PCSG; 31.4% reported provider discussion only, 4.4% reported use of PCSG only, and 8.9% reported both. Non-Hispanic blacks (v non-Hispanic whites), married survivors, survivors of breast cancer (v prostate or less prevalent cancers), those treated with chemotherapy, and survivors reporting past research study/clinical trial participation were more likely to report provider discussion(s) (P < .01). Hispanics (v non-Hispanic whites), survivors age 40 to 49 years (v ≤ 39 years), survivors of breast cancer (v melanoma or less prevalent cancers), those diagnosed ≤ 1 year ago (v > 5 years ago), survivors treated with radiation, and past research participants were more likely to report use of PCSG (P < .05). Survivors reporting any psychosocial care were more likely to be “very satisfied” with how their needs were met (P < .001). Conclusion Many survivors do not report a discussion with providers about the psychosocial effects of cancer, which reflects a missed opportunity to connect survivors to psychosocial services. These data can benchmark the success of efforts to improve access to cancer-related psychosocial care.