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. 2025 Apr;19(2):603-613.
doi: 10.1007/s11764-023-01493-z. Epub 2023 Dec 4.

European recommendations for short-term surveillance of health problems in childhood, adolescent and young adult cancer survivors from the end of treatment to 5 years after diagnosis: a PanCare guideline

Ismay A E de Beijer  1 , Roderick Skinner  2   3   4 , Riccardo Haupt  5 , Desiree Grabow  6 , Edit Bardi  7   8 , Andrea Beccaria  5 , Adela Cañete Nieto  9 , Samira Essiaf  10 , Anna-Liesa Filbert  6 , Hannah Gsell  11 , Anita Kienesberger  11 , Thorsten Langer  12 , Patricia McColgan  13 , Monica Muraca  5 , Jelena Rascon  14 , Ramona Tallone  5 , Zuzana Tomasikova  11 , Anne Uyttebroeck  15 , Leontien C M Kremer  16   17   18 , Helena J H van der Pal #  16 , Renée L Mulder #  16 ; PanCareSurPass consortium
Collaborators, Affiliations

European recommendations for short-term surveillance of health problems in childhood, adolescent and young adult cancer survivors from the end of treatment to 5 years after diagnosis: a PanCare guideline

Ismay A E de Beijer et al. J Cancer Surviv. 2025 Apr.

Abstract

Purpose: Childhood, adolescent and young adult (CAYA) cancer survivors require ongoing surveillance for health problems from the end of cancer treatment throughout their lives. There is a lack of evidence-based guidelines on optimal surveillance strategies for the period from the end of treatment to 5 years after diagnosis. We aimed to address this gap by developing recommendations for short-term surveillance of health problems based on existing long-term follow-up (LTFU) care guidelines.

Methods: The guideline working group, consisting of healthcare professionals, parents and survivor representatives from 10 countries, worked together to identify relevant health problems that may occur in survivors between the end of treatment and 5 years after diagnosis and to develop recommendations for short-term surveillance of health problems. The recommendations were drawn from existing LTFU guidelines and adapted where necessary based on clinical expertise.

Results: The working group developed 44 recommendations for short-term surveillance of health problems, which were divided into four categories based on the level of surveillance required: awareness only (n = 11), awareness, history and/or physical examination without surveillance test (n = 15), awareness, history and/or physical examination with potential surveillance test (n = 1) and awareness, history and/or physical examination with surveillance test (n = 17).

Conclusion: The development of a guideline for short-term surveillance of health problems fills a critical gap in survivorship care for CAYA cancer survivors, providing much-needed support immediately after treatment up to 5 years after diagnosis.

Implications for cancer survivors: This guideline will support healthcare professionals to provide appropriate follow-up care and improve the quality of life of CAYA cancer survivors.

Keywords: Aftercare; Cancer survivors; Paediatric oncology; Practice guideline; Quality of life; Short-term follow-up care; Surveillance; Survivorship; Survivorship Passport.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Disclaimer: “The project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 899999. The material presented and views expressed here are the responsibility of the author(s) only. The EU Commission takes no responsibility for any use made of the information set out”.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Visualisation of the cancer care continuum: from cancer treatment to follow-up care
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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