Guidelines for Long-Term Follow-Up after Childhood Cancer: Practical Implications for the Daily Work

Abstract

Background: Many childhood cancer survivors develop treatment-associated late effects emerging years or even decades after the end of treatment. Evidence-based guidelines recommend risk-adapted screening, facilitating early diagnosis and management of these sequelae. Long-term follow-up (LTFU) in specialized late effects clinics is devised to implement screening recommendations in the care of childhood cancer survivors.

Objectives: To create a practical LTFU tool for the daily practice.

Methods: Current guidelines and screening recommendations concerning LTFU in adult survivors of childhood cancer were reviewed and a comprehensive LTFU approach was developed.

Results: A risk stratification model assigning patients to three risk groups with different screening recommendations and frequencies is presented based on current LTFU guidelines. Furthermore, a model of LTFU in a clinical multidisciplinary team is proposed.

Conclusions: Although late morbidity and mortality in childhood cancer survivors have been attenuated in the last decade by reducing treatment toxicities, a high proportion of long-term survivors already is or will still be affected by treatment-associated chronic health conditions. With the knowledge of late effects and their occurrence as a consequence of specific treatment modalities, practical LTFU recommendations are essential to achieve standardized and structured LTFU care.

Keywords: Childhood cancer survivor; Late effects; Long-term follow-up.