'Pediatric Cancer Survivors' Requiring Lifelong Care After Recovery... "Need to Establish a Timely System"

Samsung Seoul Hospital Professor Song Yunmi's Team
Survey on Satisfaction with Pediatric Cancer Experience Management and Awareness of Coordinated Care
"Need for Establishing a Coordination System Among Medical Staff and Periodic Management"

Professor Song Yun-mi, Department of Family Medicine, Samsung Medical Center.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Childhood cancer survivors require lifelong management even after complete remission. As cancer treatment levels have advanced, the number of childhood and adolescent cancer survivors has noticeably increased, but various chronic health issues may arise during their growth process. A study highlighting the need for a systematic management system for these childhood cancer survivors has attracted attention.

Professor Song Yoon-mi's team from the Department of Family Medicine at Samsung Medical Center announced on the 20th that they investigated the "Satisfaction with Specialized Management Status for Cancer Survivors" and "Perceptions of the Cancer Survivor Linkage Management System" to establish the most suitable health management system for childhood cancer survivors.

The research team conducted a survey targeting 487 parents and guardians of childhood cancer survivors who visited for follow-up care between October 2017 and March 2020. "Satisfaction with Specialized Management Status for Cancer Survivors" was scored based on satisfaction with post-remission treatment content. The treatment content was divided into eight categories: ▲primary cancer follow-up surveillance ▲management of effects after cancer treatment ▲management of symptoms unrelated to cancer ▲lifestyle ▲comorbidities ▲psychological issues ▲vaccination ▲secondary cancer screening.

The highest satisfaction was with primary cancer follow-up surveillance (very satisfied 51.9% · satisfied 41.2%), followed by management of effects after cancer treatment (very satisfied 35.3% · satisfied 41.6%), and vaccination (very satisfied 22.7% · satisfied 39.9%). Conversely, the most dissatisfactory treatment contents were secondary cancer screening (very dissatisfied 45.9% · dissatisfied 16.2%), psychological issues (very dissatisfied 42.4% · dissatisfied 21.8%), and comorbidities (very dissatisfied 24.7% · dissatisfied 17.9%).

The "Perceptions of the Cancer Survivor Linkage Management System" survey was related to the satisfaction results of the specialized management status for cancer survivors. The cancer survivor linkage management system is a method of coordinated care among responsible medical staff, divided into three groups: oncologists, primary care physicians, and family medicine or general internal medicine doctors working at medical institutions.

About 80% of respondents answered that the cancer survivor linkage management system is actually helpful. However, preferences for medical staff varied depending on the treatment content. For primary cancer follow-up surveillance and management of effects after cancer treatment, which currently have high satisfaction, about 90% of respondents preferred oncologists.

Patients more than five years post-cancer treatment showed a 2 to 3 times higher preference for primary care physicians over oncologists regarding secondary cancer screening, vaccination, and psychological issues. Patients who underwent hematopoietic stem cell transplantation showed a 2.1 times higher preference for family medicine or general internal medicine doctors working at medical institutions over oncologists in the vaccination category.

Professor Song Yoon-mi stated, "Modern medicine has achieved a high rate of its primary medical goal of curing diseases. Now, it is time to take a step further and systematically establish health management and prevention systems. Especially for childhood cancer survivors, whose lives have been precious and protected, I hope they can receive appropriate management at each stage under more meticulous care."

This study was published in the recent issue of the international academic journal Journal of Cancer Survivorship.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.