Childhood Cancer Survivors

Overview

Over the past several decades, advances in cancer treatment and supportive care have resulted in a growing U.S. population of childhood cancer survivors. Research in childhood cancer survivorship is also expanding, due in part to the support of the Childhood Cancer Survivorship, Treatment, Access, and Research (STAR) Act. Recent work suggests that some children do not benefit from these advances to the same extent as others, and that social determinants of health may contribute to differences in access to care and outcomes.  Yet, studies of disparities in treatment and survivorship outcomes among children with cancer are sparse, and even fewer interventions targeting disparities have been tested. Among published studies of childhood cancer survivorship disparities, most are focused at the individual survivor or provider level.

Research is needed to address the full spectrum of factors that may contribute to poor outcomes among childhood cancer survivors.  Community, health system, organizational, process of care, or policy-related barriers may contribute to disparities in survivorship outcomes for childhood cancer survivors but are poorly understood. Evaluating the root causes of inequities in survivorship outcomes will require understanding barriers that exist in the cancer center care environment.

This supplement initiative is part of a larger NCI research initiative to engage cancer centers and communities in collaborative, translational research focused on decreasing the cancer burden for children diagnosed with cancer across the U.S., including among minority and underrepresented populations. The long-term goal of this administrative supplement opportunity is to generate research that will work to eliminate organizational or s­­­tructural inequalities for children diagnosed with cancer.