Cancer care for adolescents and young adults in Jordan.

Background: Adolescents and young adults with cancer have special characteristics and needs.
Aims: This study highlighted psychosocial challenges, fertility issues and secondary diseases encountered in adolescents and young adults with cancer. This work is meant to be a platform for future interventions for cancer in this demographic.
Methods: We investigated the latest edition of the Jordan Cancer Registry (JCR) and our more comprehensive institutional database during 2000-2012. Smoking, obesity and fertility preservation were addressed briefly as important issues among AYA patients.
Results: Cancer among adolescents and young adults represents 16.3% of all new cancer cases and has increased by 25% over the past 12 years. Women are more likely to be involved (female: male ratio of 1.44: 1) because of thyroid and breast cancers. Five-year survival rate for the AYA group was 72.4%, which was significantly better than for adults aged ≥ 40 years (59.8%) but worse than for paediatric patients aged < 15 years (79.2%) (P < 0.0001).
Conclusions: Cancer in adolescents and young adults represents a substantial and growing proportion of oncological diagnoses. Due to their special needs and treatment complications, a dedicated service is urgently needed.
(Copyright © World Health Organization (WHO) 2018. Some rights reserved. This work is available under the CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo).)