Late endocrine diseases in survivors of adolescent and young adult cancer in California: a population-based study

Cancer survivors have increased risk of endocrine complications, but there is a lack of information on the occurrence of specific endocrinopathies at the population-level.

We used data from the California Cancer Registry (2006–2018) linked to statewide hospitalisation, emergency department, and ambulatory surgery databases. We estimated the cumulative incidence of and factors associated with endocrinopathies among adolescents and young adults (AYA, 15–39 years) who survived ≥2 years after diagnosis.

Among 59,343 AYAs, 10-year cumulative incidence was highest for diabetes (4.7%), hypothyroidism (4.6%), other thyroid (2.2%) and parathyroid disorders (1.6%). Hypothyroidism was most common in Hodgkin lymphoma, leukaemia, breast, and cervical cancer survivors, while diabetes was highest among survivors of leukaemias, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, colorectal, cervical, and breast cancer. In multivariable models, factors associated with increased hazard of endocrinopathies were treatment, advanced stage, public insurance, residence in low/middle socioeconomic neighbourhoods, older age, and non-Hispanic Black or Hispanic race/ethnicity. Haematopoietic cell transplant was associated with most endocrinopathies, while chemotherapy was associated with a higher hazard of ovarian dysfunction and hypothyroidism.

We observed a high burden of endocrinopathies among AYA cancer survivors, which varied by treatment and social factors. Evidence-based survivorship guidelines are needed for surveillance of these diseases.