Global assessment of cancer incidence and survival in adolescents and young adults

In high-income countries, cancer remains the commonest cause of disease-related death in adolescents and young adults (AYAs) despite survival improvements. With more than 1,000,000 new diagnoses of cancer in AYAs annually worldwide, and their number of life-years affected by cancer being greatest of all ages, the global burden of cancer in AYAs exceeds that in all other ages. In low- and middle-income countries, where the great majority of the world's 3 billion AYAs reside, the needs of those with cancer have been identified and demand attention. Unique to the age group but universal, the psychosocial challenges they face are the utmost across life's spectrum. This lead-off article of a new series in Pediatric Blood and Cancer on AYA oncology attempts to assess the global status of this emerging discipline. The review includes the changing incidence and survival of the common cancers in AYAs-there is no other age group with a similar array of malignancies-and the specific challenges to quality and quantity of life that compromise their lives.