Young adult cancer diagnosis rates may be increasing at least according to two recent studies. But as noted by the researchers much of what we know about cancer treatment comes from studies of older patients which creates an apparent knowledge gap.
Tumors are not all the same. Skin colon and other cancers in young adults may necessitate different treatments than those given to older patients. That is the main finding of a Mount Sinai study that systematically compared the genomes of 14 different types of cancer in both young and old people.
Treatment Options For Young Adult Cancer Patients May Vary
Cancer treatment options for young adult cancer patients may be determined by several genetic markers according to new findings from Cell Reports.
Genomic data from 1757 adult patients under the age of 50 were compared to 3608 patients over the age of 50 to address this issue. The information came from The Cancer Genome Atlas. The researchers systematically compared genetic mutations chromosomal alterations tumor-immune system factors and the possibility of being treated with a known anti-cancer therapy for each tumor. They then used more samples from the International Cancer Genome Consortium to confirm the findings.
Nonetheless, there were some commonalities among cancer types. Most notably the findings suggested that the immune systems of the young adults responded differently to the majority of the tumors. This included macrophage and dendritic cell responses which are frequently used in anti-cancer immunotherapies.
It is common to see that young patients respond differently to various treatments when compared to elderly patients. The response of body cells in young adults varies due to the presence of a better immune system according to researchers. However, new developments also suggest that genetic markers and other parameters may influence this in many patients.
Overall the findings revealed that each type of young adult tumor could be distinguished from older versions by a unique set of characteristics. The relative proportions of well-known mutations seen in low-grade gliomas a type of brain tumor for example shifted dramatically with the patient’s age. Young adult endometrial tumors on the other hand tended to have more mutations than older patients’ endometrial tumors.
While some treatment options are more suited for elderly patients, doctors prefer to use new methods for young patients due to their improved immunity. However, further research is needed in this area before the treatment can be implemented on a large scale.
Anti-BRAF treatment options on the other hand may benefit older colon cancer patients more than younger ones. These findings have been made available to other cancer researchers by the authors. They also intend to collaborate with others to test new ideas for treating tumors in young adults.
While the majority of caregivers are spouses and adult children of the sick many other people including close friends neighbors and members of places of worship also serve as caregivers. As a result, this report incorporates findings from research on “families” and “caregivers.” When we use these words we provide information on how the words are used in the research that has been reviewed.
Because of the volume of this literature and in keeping with the committee’s desire to focus on a subset of critical issues in depth. While this report addresses family distress it was not possible to thoroughly examine all of the issues that families/caregivers face when a loved one is diagnosed with cancer.
Final findings include differences in tumor response to different treatment options such as drugs designed to combat cancer-causing mutations in the BRAF gene between young and older adults’ tumors. The findings indicated that anti-BRAF drugs may provide effective treatment options for a greater proportion of young adult skin cancer patients than older patients with the same tumors.
