INCIDENCE OF CANCER AMONG NEW-SOUTH-WALES ADOLESCENTS - WHICH CLASSIFICATION SCHEME DESCRIBES ADOLESCENT CANCERS BETTER

This report has the dual purpose of describing patterns of cancer inci dence among adolescents in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, and compa ring adult and childhood cancer classification schemes. All cases of c ancer incident between 1972 and 1991 in NSW residents aged 10-19 yeats were obtained from the population-based NSW Central Cancer Registry a nd coded according to Birch and Marsden (1987) in addition to routine coding by the Ninth Revision of the International Classification of Di seases. The average incidence rate for all cancers combined was 158 an d 140 per million in males and females respectively. The Birch and Mar sden category of ''carcinomas and other epithelial neoplasms'' compris ed 22% of all cancers in male adolescents and 37% in females. Melanoma alone accounted for 16% of all cancers in males and 26% in females. R ates of leukaemias and central nervous system tumours were similar in the age groups 10-14 years and 15-19 years. By contrast, lymphomas, bo ne tumours (males only), soft tissue (males only), ''germ-cell, tropho blastic and other gonadal tumours'' and ''carcinomas and other epithel ial neoplasms'' were more common in the older age group. The Birch and Marsden classification with its emphasis on morphology provided a cle arer picture of some types of cancer which occurred frequently among t eenagers. Cancers common in adults did occur in older adolescents but were less well described by the childhood scheme. Cancers of colon and lung were often of unusual histological type compared to adult tumour s. It would appear appropriate to use the childhood classification sch eme to describe cancer incidence in adolescent age groups, perhaps wit h minor modification. (C) 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.