What’s next?
Among the recommendations of the authors of the AYA series in Blood is a call for assessing AYA-specific therapy in future clinical trials, as well as improved collaboration between adult and pediatric teams with involvement of multidisciplinary teams.
Many centers are already working on models for collaborative care, Dr. Salsman said, citing the Fort Worth AYA Oncology Coalition led by medical director Karen Albritton, MD, as an example of a program that has been successful in “getting stakeholders on the same page, helping them have a shared vision, and working to maximize improvements in outcomes.”
Patients are also taking the lead in demanding better care and attention to their psychosocial needs, Dr. Hanna said. In the case of the community-powered advocacy organization Critical Mass, they succeeded in getting lawmakers to introduce a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that would allow college students to defer loan payments while undergoing cancer treatment.