An analysis of US cancer surveillance data suggests that over the next ten years there will be a dramatic rise in the number of people over the age of 65 either living with cancer or with a history of the disease, mainly due to the greying of the baby boomer generation.

You can read how National Cancer Institute (NCI) researcher Dr Julia Rowland and colleagues found this number will rise by about 42% in the next decade in the October issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Rowland, who is director of NCI’s Office of Cancer Survivorship in the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, said in a statement:

“Cancer is largely a disease of aging, so we’re seeing yet another effect of the baby boom generation and we need to prepare for this increase.”

For their analysis, Rowland and colleagues analyzed data from the NCI Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program and found:

  • In 1971, the year the National Cancer Act was signed into law, the number of people in the US who had survived cancer was about 3 million.

  • By 2008, the last year of complete SEER data, the figure had risen to nearly 12 million.

  • In 2008, the proportion of cancer survivors aged 65 and over was 60%.

  • This is set to reach 63% by 2020.

  • The most commonly diagnosed cancers among survivors were: female breast cancer (22% of diagnoses), prostate cancer (20%), and colorectal cancer (9%).

  • The high rate of survival among this population is most likely due to improved detection and screening.

  • In contrast, the percentage of lung cancer survivors is only 3%, despite it being by far the most frequently diagnosed cancer in both men and women.

Rowland and colleagues conclude that:

“Improved survival and population aging converge to generate a booming population of older adult cancer survivors, many of whom have multiple complex health conditions and unique survivorship needs. This demographic shift has important implications for future health care needs and costs of the US population.”

Rowland said the health care community will soon be facing a wave of cancer survivors with some unique challenges and they need to get ready for it. Unfortunately though, the number of oncologists and geriatric specialists is going down just at the time when we will need more of them.

However, on a more optimistic note, she said:

“We may be fortunate in that the aging population is healthier than in previous generations, and new technologies could allow for better communication and follow-up.”

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD