title: Trends in Radiation Therapy among Cancer Survivors in the United States, 2000-2030.
abstract: Background:Although the number of cancer survivors has increased substantially over the past several decades, the composition of survivors treated with radiotherapy is not well defined. Radiotherapy carries unique long-term toxicity risks for cancer survivors. This study describes the current estimates and future projections of the epidemiology of 5-year cancer survivors who receive radiation therapy.Methods:We used cancer incidence and survival data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End-Results (SEER) database linked to U.S. Census data to estimate the number of 5-year cancer survivors treated with radiation between 2000 and 2030. Future projections assumed continuing incidence and survival trends based on historical rates.Results:In 2016, there were an estimated 3.05 million cancer survivors treated with radiation, accounting for 29% of all cancer survivors. The number of radiation-treated cancer survivors is projected to reach 3.38 million by 2020 and 4.17 million by 2030. In 2016, breast (40%) and prostate cancer (23%) composed the majority of radiation-treated survivors, followed by head and neck cancer (5.8%), lymphoma (5.6%), uterine (3.9%), and rectal cancer (3.8%). The percentage of 70 years or older radiation-treated survivors steadily increased between 2000 and 2030.Conclusions:The next several years are projected to see a large increase in the number of cancer survivors treated with radiation.Impact:This group of cancer survivors has unique needs given the long-term risks of radiation, and increased research and awareness are required to optimize health of this growing population.Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 26(6); 963-70. ©2017 AACR.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Medicine and Applied Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California.
authors.forename: Alex K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Bryant
authors.affiliation: Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, Portland, Oregon.
authors.forename: Matthew P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Banegas
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California.|Moores Cancer Center, La Jolla, California.
authors.forename: Maria Elena
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Martinez
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Medicine and Applied Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California.|Moores Cancer Center, La Jolla, California.
authors.forename: Loren K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Mell
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Medicine and Applied Sciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California. j2murphy@ucsd.edu.|Moores Cancer Center, La Jolla, California.
authors.forename: James D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Murphy
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000073116:Cancer Survivors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011878:Radiotherapy / Q000639:trends*; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult