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Beyond Cancer: Enhancing Quality of Life for Cancer Survivors (Second Edition)

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A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694). This special issue belongs to the section "Cancer Survivorship and Quality of Life".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 July 2026 | Viewed by 3348

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jennifer Jones

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Guest Editor

Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, UHN, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
Interests: cancer rehabilitation; cancer survivorship; long-term effects of cancer; innovative care models; ehealth; implementation science
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Maryam Lustberg

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Guest Editor

Department of Medical Oncology, Yale Cancer Center, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
Interests: breast neoplasms; cancer survivors; chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Muna Al-Khaifi

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Guest Editor Assistant

Sunnybrook Research Institute, University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine, Toronto, ON, Canada
Interests: breast cancer; cancer survivorship and quality of life outcomes; medical education; humanism in medicine; women’s health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is the second edition of a previous Special Issue entitled “Beyond Cancer: Enhancing Quality of Life for Cancer Survivors” (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/cancers/special_issues/400D0T3R53).

As the number of cancer survivors continues to increase, due to the growth and aging of the population of cancer survivors, as well as advances in early cancer detection and treatment, follow-up care with a focus on quality of life for is becoming increasingly important. Cancer survivors often face physical, emotional, and practical changes after the completion of their cancer treatment. As such, recent research has shown the significance of a holistic approach to survivorship, highlighting the complex interplay between medical care and quality of life. From the initial diagnosis through to long-term survivorship, cancer impacts every facet of life, necessitating a comprehensive approach to supportive care and rehabilitation.

Our understanding of survivorship has significantly evolved, emphasizing the need to address not only the medical aspects but also the psychosocial, biosocial, and economic dimensions of life after cancer, creating a more comprehensive approach that enhances overall quality of life. This includes addressing long-term health-related quality of life (HRQOL) issues, such as chronic physical side effects, mental health, and social wellbeing, ensuring that survivors receive holistic care tailored to their ongoing needs.

As we continue to advance our understanding of cancer survivorship, it is imperative to translate these insights into practical, evidence-based interventions that can be seamlessly integrated into clinical practice. By doing so, we can empower survivors to lead fulfilling lives. This Special Issue highlights the multifaceted nature of cancer survivorship, ongoing efforts to improve the quality of life for all survivors, and insights into the effective management of post-treatment side effects, promoting overall wellbeing.

Dr. Jennifer Jones
Dr. Maryam Lustberg
Guest Editors

Dr. Muna Al-Khaifi
Guest Editor Assistant

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Cancers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

psychosocial oncology
cancer survivorship
long-term effects of cancer
psychoeducational interventions
nnovative care models
continuing education
knowledge translation

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 681 KB

Open AccessArticle

Mandibular Radiation Dose Modifies the Association Between Post-Chemoradiotherapy Dental Extraction Timing and Osteoradionecrosis Risk: A Retrospective Cohort Study

by Erkan Topkan, Efsun Somay, Sibel Bascil, Duriye Ozturk and Ugur Selek

Cancers 2026, 18(11), 1756; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers18111756 - 27 May 2026

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Abstract

Background/Objectives: This retrospective study evaluated whether the association between post-CCRT dental extraction timing and osteoradionecrosis of the jaw (ORNJ) risk is modified by mandibular radiation exposure in patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (LA-NPC) treated with definitive concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT). Methods: A total of 247 patients who did not undergo pre-CCRT dental extraction but underwent post-CCRT extraction were analyzed. Mandibular radiation exposure was quantified using EQD2. Associations between clinical, tumoral, dental, and dosimetric variables and ORNJ were assessed using multivariable logistic regression, including assessment of EQD2–timing interaction. ROC analyses were performed to evaluate discriminative performance and estimate exploratory thresholds. ORNJ developed in 23 patients (9.3%). Mandibular EQD2 was independently associated with ORNJ risk (OR 2.10 per 5 Gy; 95% CI 1.40–3.15; p < 0.001). A significant interaction between EQD2 and extraction timing was observed (OR 1.07; 95% CI 1.03–1.11; p = 0.023). EQD2 demonstrated excellent discrimination (AUC 0.885; cutoff 46.5 Gy), whereas extraction timing showed modest discrimination (AUC 0.691; cutoff 10 months). At <46.5 Gy, ORNJ rates remained low regardless of timing (1.0% vs. 3.9%). At ≥46.5 Gy, delayed extraction was associated with substantially higher ORNJ incidence (31.1% vs. 11.3%). Number of extracted teeth (OR 1.16; p = 0.012) and hemoglobin level (OR 0.62; p = 0.007) were also independent predictors. Conclusions: The effect of post-CCRT dental extraction timing on ORNJ risk is modified by mandibular radiation dose, supporting interpretation in conjunction with mandibular radiation exposure rather than as an isolated factor. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Beyond Cancer: Enhancing Quality of Life for Cancer Survivors (Second Edition))

17 pages, 1993 KB

Open AccessArticle

Attenuation of Immune Senescence Markers After Intensive Cancer Therapy Through Resistance Training: A Pilot Study

by Laura F. Newell, Eric Twohey, Jason Sweetnam, Sasha Skendzel, John Stingle, Kristina A. Vartanian, Brett A. Davis, Cora E. Layman, Lucia Carbone, Karina Ray, Suzanne S. Fei, Lisa Karstens, Fiona C. He, Najla El Jurdi, Anne H. Blaes, Gabrielle Meyers, Rachel J. Cook, Austin Baraki, Donald R. Dengel and Shernan G. Holtan

Cancers 2026, 18(11), 1710; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers18111710 - 24 May 2026

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Abstract

Background: Chemotherapy and radiation accelerate aging of multiple systems, including the immune and musculoskeletal systems. Resistance training may mitigate some of the late physiologic effects of cancer therapy. Methods: We developed a community-based pilot study of resistance training for long-term cancer survivors meeting criteria for pre-frailty or frailty (N = 8; 6 allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant, 1 autologous hematopoietic transplant, 1 breast cancer survivor) and their caregivers (N = 8 healthy controls) consisting of a baseline assessment, 10 weeks of personalized resistance training at least once weekly as a group and as many additional times on an individual basis as their schedule allowed, and an end-of-study assessment to measure change in strength and body composition. Blood samples were collected at the start of the study and after the 10-week training program to assess changes in peripheral blood mononuclear cell DNA methylation patterns, gene expression measured by RNA sequencing, and stool microbiome analysis using metagenomics. The median number of resistance training sessions was 25 sessions. Results: Cancer survivors and controls both more than doubled their squat and press volume after 10 weeks. At baseline, cancer survivors exhibited a pro-inflammatory transcriptomic and epigenetic profile with elevated interferon signaling and reduced naïve T cell signatures compared to healthy controls, consistent with immune senescence. After 10 weeks of resistance training, these differences normalized, suggesting that exercise exerted anti-inflammatory and immune-restorative effects in cancer survivors at both gene expression and methylation levels. Ten fecal microbial pathways that were lower in relative abundance in patients compared with controls at baseline were no longer significantly different post-exercise. Conclusions: Our data suggest that in addition to beneficial changes in body composition, resistance training may exert an immune restorative effect in cancer survivors. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Beyond Cancer: Enhancing Quality of Life for Cancer Survivors (Second Edition))

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15 pages, 320 KB

Open AccessArticle

by Ana Cristina Ruiz Peña, Laura Baquedano Mainar and Pluvio J. Coronado Martín

Cancers 2026, 18(6), 1019; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers18061019 - 21 Mar 2026

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Abstract

Background: Menopausal symptoms can negatively affect health-related quality of life (HRQoL), especially in women with a history of cancer. This study compared menopause-specific HRQoL in peri- and postmenopausal women with and without cancer and explored differences by cancer type, menopause treatment use, and depression. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional multicenter study using self-reported data from 6833 women enrolled through the Mi Menopausia mobile app between 2021 and 2024. HRQoL was assessed with the Cervantes SF-16 scale. Results: The final sample consisted of 6833 women: no cancer (n = 6482) and cancer (n = 351), further classified as gynecologic (n = 210) and non-gynecologic (n = 141). Cancer history was associated with worse HRQoL in the Sexuality domain (51.2 ± 23.8 vs. 48.3 ± 24.6; p = 0.013), while global HRQoL did not differ significantly between women with and without cancer (30.6 ± 21.7 vs. 32.3 ± 20.7; p = 0.130). Among cancer women, Sexuality scores were worse in non-gynecologic versus gynecologic cancers (55.7 ± 22.9 vs. 48.2 ± 24.1; p = 0.005). Depression was consistently associated with worse HRQoL in all groups, while menopause treatment use was associated with poorer HRQoL only in women without cancer. Conclusions: Cancer history was mainly associated with poorer sexual menopause-related HRQoL rather than global HRQoL. Depression was a major factor linked to impaired HRQoL, highlighting the need for integrated sexual and mental health assessment in menopausal women, particularly cancer survivors. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Beyond Cancer: Enhancing Quality of Life for Cancer Survivors (Second Edition))

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Review

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Open AccessReview

Prehabilitation in Adult Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy or Radiotherapy: A Scoping Review

by Dylan Kwan, Wesley Kwan, Anchal Badwal, Tuti Puol, Justin Zou Deng, Raymond Wang, Saad Ahmed, Alexandria Mansfield, Rouhi Fazelzad and Jennifer Jones

Cancers 2026, 18(2), 286; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers18020286 - 16 Jan 2026

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2031

Abstract

Purpose: The effectiveness and feasibility of cancer prehabilitation have been well-validated in surgical settings, but its role in non-surgical treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy (RT), remains unclear. This scoping review aims to systematically explore the existing literature on prehabilitation programs for non-surgical cancer treatments. Methods: Following the scoping review methodology developed by the Joanna Briggs Institute, seven databases were systematically searched from their inception to October 2024 for peer-reviewed studies involving prehabilitation prior to non-surgical treatment. Data were extracted and reported adhering to PRISMA-ScR guidelines, using a convergent synthesis design to present qualitative and quantitative evidence. No formal risk-of-bias or quality appraisal was conducted. Results: Of 22,122 studies, 39 met the inclusion criteria, yielding a combined sample of 6073 patients and thirty-four unique interventions. Sample sizes ranged from 9 to 1992, with randomized control trials being the most common (16). Head and neck cancer was the most frequently studied, followed by breast, esophageal/gastric, and lung cancer. Of the included interventions, 23 were unimodal and 16 were multimodal. Exercise was the most common component (30), with nutrition (13), psychosocial (10), and educational (8) components also present. Most efficacy studies (84%) reported improved outcomes and nearly all (93%) feasibility studies found prehabilitation acceptable and implementable. Conclusions: This review highlights a growing body of literature examining prehabilitation prior to chemotherapy or RT in adult cancer patients, with studies suggesting potential benefits and feasibility. However, long-term trials, especially in diverse cancers and older populations, remain scarce. Our results provide insight into future implementation, evaluation of outcomes, and directions for future prehabilitation research. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Beyond Cancer: Enhancing Quality of Life for Cancer Survivors (Second Edition))

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