Hematological malignancies in the adolescent and young adult (AYA) population in Singapore.

Abstract

e13630 Background: Hematological malignancies is thought to be one of the more common Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) cancers and constitute leukemias and lymphomas. However, little is known about its incidence and prevalence in Asia. We also do not have any data on its behavior or its prognosticators. The outcomes of this group of patients is also unknown when compared to the pediatrics or geriatrics, but is expected to be not as ideal. There is no consensus on whether this group of patients should be treated as pediatrics or as the older adults. We have sought to evaluate the prevalence and trends in a single large-volume tertiary cancer centre in Asia. Methods: We extracted data on all patients with cancer between 16-39 years old who were seen at our centre (National Cancer Centre Singapore) during the period of 1st January 2015 and 31st December 2019. In total, we had 2583 patients. We then excluded all other cancer types except those with a hematological malignancy and 5 other patients due to incomplete data. Results: There were 319 patients with a hematological malignancy. 153 (48%) were female and 166 were male(52%). Most of the patients presented between 30-39 years old (171, 53.6%). There were 54 (2.1%) leukemias and 265 (83.1%) lymphomas. Of those with leukemias, 46 (85.2%) had acute leukemia and 9 (14.8%) had chronic leukemias. Among the lymphoma patients, there were 194 (73.2%) Non Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) patients and 69 (26.0%) Hodgkin Lymphoma (HL) patients. There were 149 (46.7%) B Cell lymphomas and 38 (11.9%) T Cell lymphoma patients. The most common B cell Lymphomas is Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma (128, 85.9%) and the most common T Cell Lymphomas is Peripheral T-cell Lymphoma (28, 73.7% patients). Conclusions: AYAs with a hematological malignancy form a significant portion of the cancers we see in this age group. Yet, little information is available with regards to their clinico-pathological characteristics, especially in Asia. Work is underway to further elucidate these differences so that we can better their outcomes.