Patterns of cancer distribution in a medical center among adolescents 14 to 17 years of age for the period 1995 to 2001.
OBJECTIVE
There are limited data on the pattern of cancer distribution among adolescents in Taiwan. This study evaluated the characteristics of these rare cancers in a medical center.


METHODS
Analyses of the characteristics of malignant neoplasms for patients aged 14 to 17 years at diagnosis were performed for all cases recorded in the tumor registry of Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (CGMH) at Linkou for the period 1995 to 2001. All eligible tumors were categorized in 1 of 12 diagnostic groups according to the scheme of the International Classification of Childhood Cancer (ICCC). Relative frequencies, age, and gender variations and the characteristics of tumor types were analyzed.


RESULTS
Cancer was diagnosed in 320 adolescents during the study period. The male/female ratio was 1.17. Leukemia was the leading diagnostic group. The frequency of carcinomas increased with age and was highest among 17-year-olds. In this age group, non-rhabdomyosarcoma soft tissue sarcoma/primitive neuroectodermal tumor (non-RMS STS/PNET), thyroid carcinoma (CA) and ovarian germ cell tumor (GCT) were the 3 most common solid tumors; the embryonal malignancies were rare. Tumors with the greatest male predominance were intracranial GCT (91%), nasopharyngeal CA (87.5%), osteosarcoma (84.6%), and colorectal CA (75%). Tumors with the greatest female predominance were thyroid CA (78.3%), gonadal GCT (75%), and non-RMS/PNET (56.5%). Hepatocellular CA comprised 9.4% of all carcinomas.


CONCLUSIONS
The relative frequency and the distribution of histology subtypes among adolescents were between those of childhood and adult cancers. There were marked variations in tumor occurrence between genders and among different ages.
Hung
Iou-Jih
IJ
Division of Hematology/Oncology, Chang Gung Children's Hospital, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
Yang
Chao-Ping
CP
Jaing
Tang-Her
TH
D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012042:Registries; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology