Cancer in 15- to 29-Year-Olds by Primary Site

In general, there are relatively scant data to support either an environmental causation or an inherited predisposition to cancer in this age group. The majority of cases of cancer occurring before age 30 appear to be spontaneous and unrelated to either carcinogens in the environment or family cancer syndromes. Overall, family cancer syndromes appear to account for less than 5% of the cases of cancer in the age group. Melanoma, cervical carcinoma and Kaposi sarcoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Hodgkin and Burkitt lymphomas accounting for the majority of environmentally induced malignancies (ultraviolet light, human papillomavirus, human immunodeficiency virus, and Epstein-Barr virus, respectively). Ultimately, a larger proportion of cases may be attributable to specific factors or genetic predisposition, but at present, most cancer in this age group appears to be sporadic and random.