Follow-up programs for childhood cancer survivors in Europe: a questionnaire survey.

<h4>Background</h4>For many childhood cancer survivors follow-up care is important long after treatment completion. We aimed to describe the availability and characteristics of long-term follow-up programs (LTFU) across Europe, their content and aims, their problems, and to assess opinio...

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Main Authors: Stefan Essig, Roderick Skinner, Nicolas X von der Weid, Claudia E Kuehni, Gisela Michel
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2012-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0053201&type=printable
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author Stefan Essig
Roderick Skinner
Nicolas X von der Weid
Claudia E Kuehni
Gisela Michel
author_facet Stefan Essig
Roderick Skinner
Nicolas X von der Weid
Claudia E Kuehni
Gisela Michel
author_sort Stefan Essig
collection DOAJ
description <h4>Background</h4>For many childhood cancer survivors follow-up care is important long after treatment completion. We aimed to describe the availability and characteristics of long-term follow-up programs (LTFU) across Europe, their content and aims, their problems, and to assess opinions on different models of LTFU.<h4>Methodology/principal findings</h4>We asked 179 pediatric oncology institutions in 20 European countries to complete an online survey on LTFU available at their institution. Of 110 respondents (62% response), 66% reported having LTFU for pediatric survivors, 38% for adult survivors of childhood cancer. Availability varied widely across European regions, from 9% of institutions in Northern Europe reporting LTFU for adult survivors to 83% of institution on the British Isles reporting LTFU for pediatric survivors. Pediatric and adult LTFU were usually located in pediatric hospitals and run by pediatric oncologists. Content of follow-up included screening for adverse outcomes and health education. Important problems included lack of time, personnel and funding. Most institutions without LTFU reported that they would like to offer a program (86%).<h4>Conclusion/significance</h4>Despite general agreement on the need of follow-up care, there is still a lack of well-organized LTFU for survivors of childhood cancer across Europe.
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spelling doaj-art-93aa9726d5ca4d40a4e29e9f51357cbe2025-08-20T02:32:14ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032012-01-01712e5320110.1371/journal.pone.0053201Follow-up programs for childhood cancer survivors in Europe: a questionnaire survey.Stefan EssigRoderick SkinnerNicolas X von der WeidClaudia E KuehniGisela Michel<h4>Background</h4>For many childhood cancer survivors follow-up care is important long after treatment completion. We aimed to describe the availability and characteristics of long-term follow-up programs (LTFU) across Europe, their content and aims, their problems, and to assess opinions on different models of LTFU.<h4>Methodology/principal findings</h4>We asked 179 pediatric oncology institutions in 20 European countries to complete an online survey on LTFU available at their institution. Of 110 respondents (62% response), 66% reported having LTFU for pediatric survivors, 38% for adult survivors of childhood cancer. Availability varied widely across European regions, from 9% of institutions in Northern Europe reporting LTFU for adult survivors to 83% of institution on the British Isles reporting LTFU for pediatric survivors. Pediatric and adult LTFU were usually located in pediatric hospitals and run by pediatric oncologists. Content of follow-up included screening for adverse outcomes and health education. Important problems included lack of time, personnel and funding. Most institutions without LTFU reported that they would like to offer a program (86%).<h4>Conclusion/significance</h4>Despite general agreement on the need of follow-up care, there is still a lack of well-organized LTFU for survivors of childhood cancer across Europe.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0053201&type=printable
spellingShingle Stefan Essig
Roderick Skinner
Nicolas X von der Weid
Claudia E Kuehni
Gisela Michel
Follow-up programs for childhood cancer survivors in Europe: a questionnaire survey.
PLoS ONE
title Follow-up programs for childhood cancer survivors in Europe: a questionnaire survey.
title_full Follow-up programs for childhood cancer survivors in Europe: a questionnaire survey.
title_fullStr Follow-up programs for childhood cancer survivors in Europe: a questionnaire survey.
title_full_unstemmed Follow-up programs for childhood cancer survivors in Europe: a questionnaire survey.
title_short Follow-up programs for childhood cancer survivors in Europe: a questionnaire survey.
title_sort follow up programs for childhood cancer survivors in europe a questionnaire survey
url https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0053201&type=printable
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