Recommendations for the surveillance of cancer-related fatigue in childhood, adolescent, and young adult cancer survivors: a report from the International Late Effects of Childhood Cancer Guideline Harmonization Group

Abstract

Abstract Purpose Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) negatively affects the lives of childhood, adolescent, and young adult (CAYA) cancer survivors. We aimed to provide an evidence-based clinical practice guideline (CPG) with internationally harmonized CRF surveillance recommendations for CAYA cancer survivors diagnosed < 30 years. Methods This CPG was developed by a multidisciplinary panel under the umbrella of the International Late Effects of Childhood Cancer Guideline Harmonization Group. After evaluating concordances and discordances of four existing CPGs, we performed systematic literature searches. We screened articles for eligibility, assessed quality, extracted, and summarized the data from included articles. We formulated recommendations based on the evidence and clinical judgment. Results Of 3647 articles identified, 70 articles from 14 countries were included. The prevalence of CRF in CAYA cancer survivors ranged from 10–85%. We recommend that healthcare providers are aware of the risk of CRF, implement regular screening with validated measures, and recommend effective interventions to fatigued survivors. Conclusions A considerable proportion of CAYA cancer survivors suffers from CRF even years after the end of treatment. Implications for Cancer Survivors We recommend that healthcare providers adopt regular screening to detect and treat CRF early and positively influence survivors’ health and quality of life.