A new report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare) says there are more and more young people suffering from cancer, while cure rates have improved, the Australian Federation of Health and Welfare reported.
The report found that an average of two to three young people aged 15 to 24 in Australia are diagnosed with cancer every day, with melanoma being the most common form of cancer in the population. Between 2010 and 2014, more than 4800 new cases of cancer were diagnosed.
In the 30 years from 1985 to 2014, there was an upward trend in cancer incidence in Australia. Between 1985 and 1989 people in year, there were 283 newly diagnosed cancer patients, but between 2010 and 2014, 308 out of every million people were newly diagnosed.
Professor Aranda (Sanchia Aranda), head of the Australian Cancer Society (Cancer Council Australia), said that although young people still have rare cases of cancer, the growing trend of cancer rates in the younger population is worrying. This may be linked to their increasing exposure to carcinogens, she said, noting that young Australians smoke and that some cancers have been linked to smoking.
Melanoma accounts for about 15% of all newly diagnosed cancer cases, followed by gonadal germ cell tumors and Hodgkin's lymphoma. Although melanoma is the most common cancer, the number of confirmed cases has halved. The incidence of melanoma has fallen from 96 per million people to 44 per million today.
Overall, almost 9% of deaths in young people are caused by cancer, with brain cancer being the most common cause, with 18% of cancer deaths between 2011 and 2015.
The good news is that the cure rate for cancer has increased significantly in the same period. Harvey (Justin Harvey), of the Australian Institute for Health and Welfare, said 89 percent of young patients survived five years after diagnosis between 2010 and 2014, up from 80 percent between 1985 and year 1989.
