Childhood cancer survivorship in China: An overview of the past two decades

Abstract

Across countries in the world, China has the largest population of childhood cancer survivors. Research and care for the childhood cancer survivor population in China is fragmented. We searched studies published in English or Chinese language between January 1, 2000 and June 30, 2021, which examined various aspects of childhood cancer survivorship in China. The existing China-focused studies were largely based on a single institution, convenient samplings with relatively small sample sizes, restricted geographic areas, cross-sectional design, and focused on young survivors in their childhood or adolescence. These studies primarily focused on the physical late effects of cancer and its treatment, as well as the inferior psychological wellbeing among childhood cancer survivors, with few studies examining financial hardship, health promotion, and disease prevention, or healthcare delivery in survivorship. Our findings highlight the urgent need for research and evidence-based survivorship care to serve the childhood cancer survivor population in China.

Keywords: China; childhood cancer; survivorship.

FIGURE 1

Domains of cancer survivorship. Notes. Adapted from the Cancer Survivorship Care Quality Framework by Nekhlyudov (2019). QOL, quality of life.