Use of Screening Tools to Measure Supportive Care Needs in Former Cancer Patients of Adolescent and Young Adult Age: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Abstract

With the increasing number cancer survivors treated during pediatric, adolescent and young adult (AYA) ages, it has become essential to develop comprehensive long-term follow-up care tailored to each patient. The combination of being a cancer survivor and reaching AYA age at the time of long-term follow-up can make adherence to the proposed follow-up care challenging. To overcome the difficulties associated with the lack of follow-up, it is important to identify supportive care needs (SCN) for this population using effective tools. The main objective of this systematic review was to explore the screening tools for SCN used in long-term follow-up of survivors who have reached AYA age. We conducted a literature search on PubMed, Cochrane, and Science Direct for studies published since 2004. Articles were screened independently by two reviewers. Data were extracted and descriptive analyses were performed. Of the 3968 articles found, 14 met the inclusion criteria. Seven studies used tools specifically designed for the study that were not previously validated. The three tools used in the other seven studies encompassed an average of only 2.8 SCN per study. The tools currently used in clinical practice are insufficient to provide a comprehensive assessment of the SCN of AYA-aged survivors during long-term follow-up.

Keywords: AYA; cancer; supportive care; survivorship.