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Bridging the Gap: Embedding Psychosocial Oncology Research into Comprehensive Cancer Care for Children and Young People
by
, , , , , , , , and
Ursula Margaret Sansom-Daly
1,2,3,*,†
,
Jordana Kathleen McLoone
1,2,‡,
Joanna Elizabeth Fardell
1,2,4,‡,
Holly Elaine Evans
1,2,
Brittany Claire McGill
1,2,
Eden Grace Robertson
1,2,
Christina Signorelli
1,2,
Sarah Ellis
1,2,
Lauren Ha
1,2, 
Kate Hetherington
1,2,
Rachel Elizabeth Houweling
1,2,
Suzanne Mary Nevin
1,2,
Clarissa Evelyn Schilstra
1,2,
Richard Mitchell
2,
Michelle Haber
5,
Richard Jules Cohn
1,2 and
Claire Elizabeth Wakefield
1,6 1
Behavioural Sciences Unit, Discipline of Paediatrics and Child Health, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health, UNSW, Randwick, NSW 2031, Australia
2
Kids Cancer Centre, Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick, Sydney, NSW 2031, Australia
3
Sydney Youth Cancer Service, Nelune Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, Sydney, NSW 2031, Australia
4
Western Sydney Youth Cancer Service, Crown Princess Mary Cancer Centre, Westmead Hospital, Westmead, Sydney, NSW 2145, Australia
5
Children’s Cancer Institute, Randwick, Sydney, NSW 2031, Australia
6
Division of Quality of Life and Pediatric Palliative Care, Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University and Stanford Medicine Children’s Health, Palo Alto, CA 94305, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
First author.
‡
Joint second authors.
Cancers 2025, 17(13), 2123; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers17132123
Submission received: 12 May 2025
/
Revised: 20 June 2025
/
Accepted: 21 June 2025
/
Published: 24 June 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Pediatric and Adolescent Psycho-Oncology)
Simple Summary
Cancer care has advanced dramatically in recent decades, yet psychosocial care—support for the mental, social, and emotional health of young patients and their families—remains under-resourced and often disconnected from medical treatment. Australia is building the Minderoo Children’s Comprehensive Cancer Centre, the first of its kind in the southern hemisphere, to provide world-class cancer care for children and their families, regardless of background or location. The aim of the Centre is to fully integrate psychosocial care with cutting-edge medical research and treatment, ensuring that every child receives not only the best physical care but also support for their emotional and social needs. Research shows that when psychosocial care is included, children and families experience better quality of life and improved outcomes. However, barriers such as limited funding, fragmented research, and a lack of collaboration slow the translation of research into everyday care. This commentary highlights that to truly achieve comprehensive care, it is essential to invest in partnerships, include families in research, and reform funding so that mental health support becomes a routine part of cancer treatment. This approach will help ensure that advances in science lead to real improvements in the lives of children with cancer and their families, benefiting society as a whole.
Abstract
The National Cancer Institute designated models of comprehensive cancer care centres endeavour to enable the delivery of high-quality, holistic cancer care, informed by research evidence across the cancer care trajectory. These comprehensive cancer centers have typically been adult-oncology-focused, leaving an important gap and opportunity to consider what a model of comprehensive cancer care might look like for children and young people. With the advent of the opening of the first comprehensive children’s cancer center in Australia and the southern hemisphere, this commentary considers the important role that psychosocial oncology needs to play in driving high-quality, person-centered comprehensive cancer care for all.
