The impact of specialist treatment centres on cancer survival and cure among young people in England and Wales

Dr Anjali Shah and Professor Michel P Coleman
Collaboration with Professor Tim Eden, Professor of Teenage and Young Adult Medicine, Manchester, Professor Jillian Birch, Paediatric and Familial Cancer Research Unit, Manchester, Charles Stiller, Childhood Cancer Research Group, Oxford, Dr Mike Hawkins, Centre for Childhood Cancer Survivor Studies, Birmingham, Dr Lorna Fern, Teenagers and Young Adult Clinical Studies Group, London and Dr Margaret Rogers, Lecturer in Supportive and Palliative Care, Manchester

Funded by the Laura Crane Trust

More than 1,700 cases of cancer are diagnosed in people aged 10-24 years in England every year, and cancer is the most common natural cause of death in this age group. Several hospital units specifically for teenagers and young adults with cancer have been built or are in development around Great Britain to provide for the specific needs of people in this age group.

For people aged 10-24 years who were diagnosed with a malignancy in England and Wales, this research will aim to: analyse trends in survival and ‘cure’ by type of treatment centre, treatment and co-morbidity for those diagnosed during 1989-2004; analyse trends in survival and ‘cure’ by age, sex, type of cancer and deprivation for patients diagnosed during 1971-2004; provide short-term predictions of survival and ‘cure’, using period analysis; assess the impact of prognostic factors on survival using multivariate models; evaluate the most suitable methodological approaches to estimating outcome when data are sparse.

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