One of the objectives in the SIOPE Strategic Plan is to address the specific needs of adolescents and young adults, in cooperation with adult oncology. This is why the ESMO-SIOPE Joint Working Group on Cancer in Adolescents and Young Adults (AYA) was created in 2016.
Although cancer in AYA is rare, it is a substantial cause of death in this population. AYA have specific and unmet needs, including complex psychological and social supportive care. Outcomes are often poorer than in younger patients with the same cancer, and several contributing factors have been identified: the type of tumours, their biology and sensitivity to current therapies, as well as the low participation of AYA in clinical trials.
Therefore, SIOPE aims to develop a comprehensive multidisciplinary programme in strong partnership with adult oncologists and patients, which will include the following aspects:
- To create a European multidisciplinary network on AYA cancers that covers care and research and includes all health professionals and patients;
- At the national level, to help in the creation of AYA cancer services, which provide the required complex multidisciplinary care;
- To define a training programme for health professionals addressing the specific needs of AYA;
- To increase the portfolio of clinical trials for AYA, and increase their accessibility to all AYA patients;
- To monitor progress in AYA terms of survival, using the clinical epidemiology platform.