Blood cancers don’t only affect older adults, and for adolescents and young adults, a diagnosis brings unique challenges that the medical community is only beginning to fully address.
Robert Negrin, M.D.
President, American Society of Hematology (ASH)
While blood cancers are frequently associated with older people, they can affect individuals of all ages, including adolescents and young adults. Overall cancer rates in this age group have increased by approximately 30% since the 1970s, with leukemia and lymphoma being two of the more common diagnoses.
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) is made up of over 18,000 hematologists united by a common mission: conquering blood diseases worldwide. Whether caring for patients and families at the bedside or developing breakthrough therapies in the lab, our members work every day to transform the treatment of blood disorders and cancers, including leukemia and lymphoma.
A unique age group
Adolescents and young adults, typically defined as individuals ages 15 to 39, don’t quite fall under the umbrella of pediatric or adult care, complicating their treatment paths. Individuals in this life stage with a cancer diagnosis must make decisions about fertility preservation, have higher rates of anxiety and depression, have a greater risk of long-term complications, and frequently experience disruptions to their education or career plans.
Despite advances in care and the development of cutting-edge treatments like immunotherapy — when a patient’s own immune system is trained to recognize and destroy cancer cells — adolescents and young adults still have inferior outcomes compared to pediatric or adult patients. For example, acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a cancer disrupting the production of red blood cells and platelets that help the blood to clot, accounts for nearly 20% of all cancer cases diagnosed in adolescents and young adults, yet overall survival ranges from 54% to 74% for this group compared with more than 90% for pediatric patients.
Building better outcomes
Investing in research and increasing adolescent and young adult enrollment in clinical trials are critical to improving outcomes for this age group. Although adolescents and young adults represent a substantial portion of blood cancer diagnoses, their participation in clinical trials is lower than that of pediatric and older adult patients, making it difficult to tailor care specifically to their needs. The factors driving the rising cancer cases in adolescents and young adults remain poorly understood, and there is an urgent need to understand why.
ASH is committed to supporting critical research that improves outcomes for this unique age group and all individuals affected by blood cancers and disorders, as well as convening experts in the field to define best practices and approaches to treatment. ASH recently released new guidelines on the treatment and management of ALL in adolescents and young adults to help aid in their care, including patient resources available at hematology.org/ALLguidelines.You can help support research by participating in ASH’s Fight4Hematology campaign at hematology.org/fight4hematology, which champions robust, sustained funding for clinical trials that advance patient care and outcomes.
