In France, cancer among 15- to 24-year-olds is rare and ranks as the third leading cause of death. The objective of our study was to examine incidence and survival rates among French adolescents and young adults with cancer. All cases of cancer occurring in 15- to 24-year-olds, recorded by 9 registries (covering 10% of the French population) and diagnosed between 1978 and 1997, were included (excluding basal cell skin carcinomas). A total of 1,161 and 1,884 cases were recorded among adolescents and young adults, respectively. Incidence rates were 161.4/10,000 for adolescents and 252.6/10,000 for young adults. During the 1978–1997 period, no annual variation in these rates was detected for either adolescents (ages 15–19) or young adults (ages 20–24). The 5-year overall survival rates were 69.1% [95% CI = 66.4–71.8] for adolescents and 74.5% [95% CI = 72.3–76.7] for young adults. Survival among 15- to 24-year-olds improved from 62.0% (95% CI = 57.5–66.5) during 1978–1982 to 80.2% (95% CI = 77.7–82.8) during 1993–1997. Compared to pediatric series, poor outcomes were observed for ALL, HML, Ewing sarcomas, osteosarcomas, rhabdomyosarcomas, and astrocytomas. It would be necessary to determine the cause of these disparities (biological differences or differences in management practices).