Suicide rates for young male cancer survivors triple in recent years
New research published in JAMA Network Open from USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of Keck Medicine of USC, suggests that among all cancer survivors, male adolescents and young adults (AYA) have the highest rate of death by suicide. The study also reports that the number of suicide deaths in the AYA male cancer survivor group (ages 15-39) increased three-fold during the 21-year-study period. In 2021, one in 65 deaths among the group was attributed to suicide. Suicide deaths have also increased for other cancer survivor groups, but the gap in suicide rates between young men and other populations significantly widened over time. Researchers used data from the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program to assess some 4.5 million deaths among cancer survivors between 2000-2021. A cancer survivor is defined as anyone who has ever been diagnosed…
