Background: Long-term follow-up (LTFU) care for childhood, adolescent, and young adult (CAYA) cancer survivors is essential to preserve health and quality of life (QoL). Evidence-based guidelines are needed to inform optimal surveillance strategies, but many topics are yet to be addressed by the International Late Effects of Childhood Cancer Guideline Harmonization Group (IGHG). Therefore, the PanCareFollowUp Recommendations Working Group collaborated with stakeholders to develop European harmonised recommendations in anticipation of evidence-based IGHG guidelines. Methods: The PanCareFollowUp Recommendations Working Group, consisting of 23 late effects specialists, researchers, and survivor representatives from nine countries, collaborated in the first Europe-wide effort to provide unified recommendations in anticipation of evidencebased guidelines. A pragmatic methodology was used to define recommendations for topics where no evidence-based IGHG recommendations exist. The objective was to describe the surveillance requirements for high-quality care while balancing the different infrastructures and resources across European health care systems. The process included two face-to-face meetings and an external consultation round involving 18 experts from 14 countries. Results: Twenty-five harmonised recommendations for LTFU care were developed collaboratively and address topics requiring awareness only (n Z 6), awareness, history and/or physical examination (n Z 9), or additional surveillance tests (n Z 10). Conclusions: The PanCareFollowUp Recommendations, representing a unique agreement across European stakeholders, emphasise awareness among survivors and health care providers in addition to tailored clinical evaluation and/or surveillance tests. They include existing IGHG guidelines and additional recommendations developed by a pragmatic methodology and will be used in the Horizon 2020efunded PanCareFollowUp project to improve health and QoL of CAYA cancer survivors.
Medulloblastoma is a rare brain malignancy. Patients after puberty are rare and bear an intermediate prognosis. Standard treatment consists of maximal resection plus radio-chemotherapy. Treatment toxicity is high and produces disabling long-term side effects. The sonic hedgehog (SHH) subgroup is highly overrepresented in the post-pubertal and adult population and can be targeted by smoothened (SMO) inhibitors. No practice-changing prospective randomized data have been generated in adults. The EORTC 1634-BTG/NOA-23 trial will randomize patients between standard-dose vs. reduced-dosed craniospinal radiotherapy and SHH-subgroup patients between the SMO inhibitor sonidegib (OdomzoTM, Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries, Inc., New York, USA) in addition to standard radio-chemotherapy vs. standard radio-chemotherapy alone to improve outcomes in view of decreased radiotherapy-related toxicity and increased efficacy. We will further investigate tumor tissue, blood, and cerebrospinal fluid as well as magnetic resonance imaging and radiotherapy plans to generate information that helps to further improve treatment outcomes. Given that treatment side effects typically occur late, long-term follow-up will monitor classic side effects of therapy, but also health-related quality of life, cognition, social and professional outcome, and reproduction and fertility. In summary, we will generate unprecedented data that will be translated into treatment changes in post-pubertal patients with medulloblastoma and will help to design future clinical trials.
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