Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Cancer Survivorship Practices: An Overview
1
Department of Psychosocial Research and Epidemiology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, 1066 CX Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2
Department of Medical Oncology, Netherlands Cancer Institute—Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, 1066 CX Amsterdam, The Netherlands
3
Department of Medical Oncology, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Erasmus University Medical Center, 3015 GD Rotterdam, The Netherlands
4
Dutch AYA Care Network, 3511 DT Utrecht, The Netherlands
5
Department of Surgical Oncology, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Erasmus University Medical Center, 3015 GD Rotterdam, The Netherlands
6
Division of Clinical Studies, Institute of Cancer Research, London SM2 5NG, UK
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Charles L. Shapiro
Cancers 2021, 13(19), 4847; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers13194847
Received: 10 August 2021
/
Revised: 25 September 2021
/
Accepted: 25 September 2021
/
Published: 28 September 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology)
Simple Summary
Adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer patients, those who are diagnosed with cancer for the first time at the age of 15–39 years, are recognized as a distinct population within the oncology community due to the unique challenges they face throughout their disease trajectory. The number of AYAs who develop cancer per year has increased over the last decades, and >80% is expected to survive beyond 5 years. However, this rapidly growing AYA cancer survivor population is also at increased risk of cancer- and treatment-related long-term and late effects. There is a need for research efforts to inform the survivorship care of this unique population. The aims of this overview paper are to describe the epidemiology of the AYA cancer survivor population, the current knowledge on long-term and late effects, challenges and models of AYA survivorship care, and future opportunities within research as well as healthcare.
Worldwide, more than 1.2 million adolescents and young adults (AYAs; those aged 15–39 years) are diagnosed with cancer each year. Although considerable variability exists according to cancer site and stage of disease, the 5-year relative survival at the time of diagnosis has been estimated at >80% for all AYA patients with cancer combined. Extensive survivorship research in recent decades has focused on patients diagnosed with cancer as children (<15 years) and older adults (>39 years), yet few studies to date have reported outcomes specifically for patients diagnosed as AYAs. With increasing incidence and improving survival for many tumor types, leading to the majority of AYA patients with cancer becoming long-term survivors, there is a critical need for research efforts to inform the survivorship care of this growing population. This article describes the population of AYA cancer survivors according to their epidemiology and late and long-term effects, the challenges and models of AYA survivorship care, as well as future opportunities for research and healthcare.
View Full-Text
Keywords:
adolescents and young adults; AYA; cancer; survivorship; AYA care programs
▼
Show Figures
Figure 1
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
MDPI and ACS Style
Janssen, S.H.M.; van der Graaf, W.T.A.; van der Meer, D.J.; Manten-Horst, E.; Husson, O. Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Cancer Survivorship Practices: An Overview. Cancers 2021, 13, 4847. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers13194847
AMA Style
Janssen SHM, van der Graaf WTA, van der Meer DJ, Manten-Horst E, Husson O. Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Cancer Survivorship Practices: An Overview. Cancers. 2021; 13(19):4847. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers13194847
Chicago/Turabian StyleJanssen, Silvie H.M., Winette T.A. van der Graaf, Daniël J. van der Meer, Eveliene Manten-Horst, and Olga Husson. 2021. "Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Cancer Survivorship Practices: An Overview" Cancers 13, no. 19: 4847. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers13194847
Find Other Styles
Note that from the first issue of 2016, MDPI journals use article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.
