Poor longterm adherence to surveillance guidelines for childhood cancer survivors in Canada

1. In this retrospective, population-based cohort study, adherence to health surveillance guidelines among adult survivors of childhood cancer in Ontario, Canada was suboptimal. 

Evidence Rating Level: 2 (Good)

It is known that adherence to long-term health surveillance guidelines among adult cancer survivors is poor. In this retrospective, population-based cohort study, researchers aimed to assess the adherence to surveillance guidelines for high-yield tests among adult survivors of childhood cancer. Participants in this study included adults who were diagnosed with childhood cancer between 1986 and 2014 in Ontario, Canada. Data were collected from healthcare administrative data from this province. All 3241 participants in this study were at an increased risk for therapy-related complications. 3205 (99%) had an increased risk of cardiomyopathy, 234 (7%) had an increased risk of breast cancer, and 327 (10%) had an increased risk of developing colorectal cancer. Among these three cohorts, only 53%, 6%, and 13% were adherent to the surveillance guidelines, respectively. Researchers found a higher degree of comorbidity was associated with greater adherence to the surveillance guidelines. A limitation of this study is that the data may not be generalizable to populations outside of Ontario or outside of Canada. Adherence may be even poorer in areas without the publicly funded health insurance that was available to participants in this study. Overall, this study demonstrates that adherence to surveillance guidelines among adult survivors of childhood cancer in Ontario, Canada is suboptimal. 

Click to read the study in CMAJ

Image: PD

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