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The Clinical Trials Gap for Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer: Recent Progress and Conceptual Framework for Continued Research

  • Hematology/Oncology (C Cole, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Over the past 30 years, adolescents and young adults (AYA, 15–39 years of age) with cancer have shown significantly less improvement in survival than younger and older patients. Because evidence suggests this may be related to their low participation in cancer clinical trials, increasing accrual to these trials has become a priority for closing this “AYA gap.” This paper reviews data documenting low AYA enrollment, presents a conceptual framework for research and intervention (Clinical Trials Pathway to Enrollment) and summarizes recent developments in the United States National Cancer Institute-sponsored clinical trials enterprise that are expected to improve AYA enrollment, including the National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN) and expanded scientific collaboration between the Children’s Oncology Group and adult NCTN groups. While time will be required for the effects of these changes to be fully realized, they offer a mechanism for facilitating the breadth of clinical/translational research needed for advancing AYA oncology and measuring its impact.

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Acknowledgements

This project was supported by NCI grant U10 CA98543 (DRF) and by funds from the COG Foundation and Aflac (DRF). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NCI, COG Foundation or Aflac.

Disclosure

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    David R. Freyer

  2. Division of Hematology, Oncology and Blood & Marrow Transplantation, Department of Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    David R. Freyer

  3. Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Nita L. Seibel

Authors
  1. David R. Freyer
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  2. Nita L. Seibel
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Correspondence to David R. Freyer.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Hematology/Oncology.

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Freyer, D.R., Seibel, N.L. The Clinical Trials Gap for Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer: Recent Progress and Conceptual Framework for Continued Research. Curr Pediatr Rep 3, 137–145 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40124-015-0075-y

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