Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Cancer Survivorship Practices: An Overview

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.