Insurance status and distant‐stage disease at diagnosis among adolescent and young adult patients with cancer aged 15 to 39 years: National Cancer Data Base, 2004 through 2010

BACKGROUND: The percentage of adolescent and young adult (AYA) patients with cancer (those aged 15-39 years) diagnosed at a distant stage of disease did not significantly change between 1975 and 2004. It has been hypothesized that a lack of health insurance may be a significant risk factor for a diagnosis of distant-stage disease among AYA patients, but to the authors' knowledge this has not been examined in a national sample. METHODS: The …