Adolescent and Young Adult Melanoma in California: The effect of race/ethnicity on incidence and survival

By

Allison Lorrine Bottom

Master of Science in Epidemiology

University of California, Irvine 2015

Professor Dr. Hoda Anton-Culver, Chair

Adolescent and young adults who are diagnosed with cancer are known as the “missing” age group. Oncology research is usually focused on pediatric and adult cancers when the disturbing fact remains that eight times more adolescents and young adults (AYA) are diagnosed with cancer each year. In California, 70,000 AYAs are diagnosed with cancer each year and more research needs to be done to understand these cancers and provide better care for these patients. The influence of race, stage, insurance type and SES for AYA melanoma was examined in a large and racially diverse population from the California Cancer Registry from 1988-2009.

I found that an association between incidence risk of cancer and survival varied by race/ethnicity, insurance type and stage. Incidence was influenced most by age at diagnosis. Those patients with public insurance such as Medicaid had shorter survival times than those who had private insurance. Race/ethnicity, specifically Hispanics, had lower survival from melanoma as compared to the other race/ethnicities.