Cancer rate for young rises but more survive

MORE young Australians are being diagnosed with cancer but survival has improved.

An Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report reveals on average two to three people aged 15 to 24 are diagnosed with cancer in Australia daily. Melanoma is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among the age group.

More than 4800 new cases of cancer were diagnosed between 2010-14 in the age group.

Between 1985-2014 the rates of cancer have risen.

The rate of cancer rose from 283 new cases per million in 1985-89 to 308 new cases per million in 2010-14, according to the data released yesterday.

Cancer Council Australia chief executive Professor Sanchia Aranda says, while a cancer diagnosis in the young is still considered rare, the rise is concerning.

“It’s possibly related to an increased exposure to things like environmental carcinogens.” Prof Aranda said. “We still have young Australians smoking and we know some cancers are related to that.”

Melanoma accounted for about 15 per cent of all new cancer diagnoses, followed by extragonadal germ cell cancer and Hodgkin lymphoma.

Despite melanoma being the most common cancer, the numbers have almost halved.

Rates of the skin cancer fell from 96 cases per million to 44 cases per million.

“It’s gone down considerably, which is good news and that’s consistent with the reduction in melanoma rate in the under 40s,” Prof Aranda said.

Overall, cancer was responsible for almost 9 per cent of all deaths in young people.

Brain cancer was the leading causing of deaths, accounting for 18 per cent of deaths from cancer in 2011-15.

The other good news is that cancer survival has improved, said Justin Harvey from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

“Almost nine in 10 (89 per cent) of young people had survived five years past their cancer diagnosis in 2010-14, up from eight in 10 (80 per cent) in 1985-89,” he said.

IT’S POSSIBLY RELATED TO AN INCREASED EXPOSURE TO THINGS LIKE ENVIRONMENTAL CARCINOGENS PROFESSOR SANCHIA ARANDA