Cancer treatments jump among young adults
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Cancer treatment rates jumped among adults younger than age 50 between 2020 and 2023, according to a FAIR Health analysis shared first with Axios.
Why it matters: The report reflects a puzzling rise in the rates of certain cancers, such as colorectal cancer, among younger patients.
- Cancer rates remain highest in older populations but previous research indicated the burden of cancer could rise among younger adults in the future despite major advances in treatment and prevention.
What they found: The report looked at treatment rates that are defined as the percentage of patients with cancer who received medical services out of all patients in a given age group who received medical services.
- They found the rates decreased among people younger than age 50 in the time period between 2016 and 2023.
- However, treatment rates increased in this age group between 2020 and 2023, jumping nearly 12% in patients ages 18-29.
- Treatment rates also increased 7.5% in patients ages 40 to 49 and 7.2% in patients ages 30 to 39, according to the analysis of FAIR Health's repository of more than 49 billion commercial health care claim records.
- The increase in patients ages 50 to 59 was 5.5%.
Zoom in: In 2023, cancer treatment rates for people younger than 50 years old were highest in New York, Arizona, Washington, D.C., Florida and Pennsylvania.
- They were lowest in Wyoming, West Virginia, Alabama, Rhode Island and Alaska.
Between the lines: Among patients aged 18 to 49 diagnosed with cancer in 2022, patients with a cancer diagnosis had much higher costs during their first year of care ($8,400) than similarly aged patients without cancer.
- "Cancer patients have substantially higher healthcare costs than non-cancer patients, a pattern that is even more pronounced for younger adult patients," the report states.
- That is due in part to the lower expected costs among younger adults in the general population as well as the costs of care for the types of cancer younger adults tend to be diagnosed with. For instance, among those younger than 65 years old, some of the costliest cancers include those of the breast, lung and colorectum.
Threat level: The most common types of cancer among younger adults included cancer of the skin, breast, thyroid and other endocrine glands, digestive organs and female genital organs.
- Over the longer time period of 2016 to 2023, cancer treatment rates decreased in patients aged 18 to 49, driven in party by a notable drop in human papillomavirus (HPV)-related cancers.
- Yes, but: The cancer treatment rate increased about 11% in patients ages 40 to 49 in cancers of the digestive system, roughly 18% for colorectal cancer and 8% for HPV-related cancers.
