According to a story from The European Society For Medical Oncology, a recent study shows that young adults and teenagers are less likely to adhere to follow-up guidelines following treatment for cancer. The study was conducted at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, NY. The goal of the study was to identify precisely how many young cancer survivors would fail to participate in follow-up visits and also determine which survivors were at a high risk of failing to return for follow-up.
The study investigated cancer survivors that between 18 and 39 years of age that had been treated at the institute between 2000 and 2015. The group of patients samples included survivors of a variety of cancer types, but there was no disparity in follow-up participation based on which type of cancer the person had. The total sample included 2367 young cancer survivors, and of that group, 37 percent had never returned for a follow-up appointment since 2015. It was also determined that people who had their cancer diagnosed and treated earlier were less likely to return for follow-up.
Researchers hypothesized that having health insurance could be a critical factor in the patient’s willingness to return for follow-up, but the study found that this was not the case. Similar rates of patients that were insured and those that were uninsured still failed to appear for follow-up, indicating that insurance was not an incentive that encouraged people to show up. Generally the longer the period of time from the end of treatment for the patient, the less likely they were to return for a follow-up visit.
The study is indicative of a worrying trend, as follow-up assessment after treatment can often be an important step to ensure that the treatment was indeed successful. Patients who choose not to attend a follow-up appointment could be putting themselves at greater risk for relapse. However, that must be the subject of a future study. The authors are also convinced that additional research is needed in order to determine other possible factors. These could include investigating whether the intensity and method of treatment or the age of patients at diagnosis could be other factors that influence a patient’s likelihood to skip follow-up guidelines.
