Hospitalization after Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Cancer: A Population-Based Study in Utah

Adolescents and young adults (AYA, age 15-39 years) with cancer may be at elevated risk for late morbidity following their cancer treatment, but few studies have quantified the excess burden of severe disease in this population. Using population-based data from Utah, we examined the risk of inpatient hospitalizations among AYA cancer survivors compared with their siblings and the general population.

Survivors of AYA cancer who were ≥2 years from diagnosis and diagnosed from 1994 to 2015 (N = 6,330), their siblings (N = 12,924), and an age- and sex-matched comparison cohort (N = 18,171) were identified using the Utah Population Database (UPDB). Hospitalizations from 1996 to 2017 were identified from statewide discharge records in the UPDB. We estimated multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HR) for first hospitalization and rate ratios (RR) for total hospitalizations for survivors relative to the matched comparison cohort and siblings.

Overall, the risk of a first hospitalization was higher among AYA cancer survivors than the matched population-based cohort [HR = 1.93; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.81-2.06]. Risk was most elevated for survivors of leukemia (HR = 4.76), central nervous system tumors (HR = 3.45), colorectal cancers (HR = 2.83), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (HR = 2.76), and breast cancer (HR = 2.37). The rate of total hospitalizations was also increased among survivors relative to the comparison cohort (RR = 2.05; 95% CI, 1.95-2.14). Patterns were generally similar in analyses comparing survivors to their siblings.

AYA cancer survivors have a higher burden of inpatient hospitalization than their siblings and the general population.

Results indicate the importance of long-term, risk-based follow-up care to prevent and treat severe morbidities after cancer treatment.