Cancer Management and Research (Oct 2022)

Cancer Cure and Consequences on Survivorship Care: Position Paper from the Italian Alliance Against Cancer (ACC) Survivorship Care Working Group

  • Dal Maso L,
  • Santoro A,
  • Iannelli E,
  • De Paoli P,
  • Minoia C,
  • Pinto M,
  • Bertuzzi AF,
  • Serraino D,
  • De Angelis R,
  • Trama A,
  • Haupt R,
  • Pravettoni G,
  • Perrone M,
  • De Lorenzo F,
  • Tralongo P

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 14
pp. 3105 – 3118

Abstract

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Luigino Dal Maso,1 Armando Santoro,2,3 Elisabetta Iannelli,4,5 Paolo De Paoli,6 Carla Minoia,7 Monica Pinto,8 Alexia Francesca Bertuzzi,3 Diego Serraino,1 Roberta De Angelis,9 Annalisa Trama,10 Riccardo Haupt,11 Gabriella Pravettoni,12,13 Maria Perrone,14 Francesco De Lorenzo,4,5 Paolo Tralongo15 On behalf of the Alliance Against Cancer (ACC) Survivorship Care and Nutritional Support Working Group1Cancer Epidemiology Unit, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico di Aviano (CRO) IRCCS, Aviano, Italy; 2Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Milan, Italy; 3IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Humanitas Cancer Center, Milan, Italy; 4Italian Federation of Cancer Patients Organisations (FAVO), Rome, Italy; 5Italian Association of Cancer Patients (Aimac), Rome, Italy; 6Alleanza Contro il Cancro, Rome, Italy; 7SC Haematology, IRCCS Istituto Tumori “Giovanni Paolo II”, Bari, Italy; 8Rehabilitation Medicine Unit, Strategic Health Services Department, Istituto Nazionale Tumori-IRCCS Fondazione G. Pascale, Naples, Italy; 9Department of Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Italian National Institute of Health (ISS), Rome, Italy; 10Evaluative Epidemiology Unit, Department of Research, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori di Milano, Milano, Italy; 11DOPO Clinic, Department of Pediatric Haematology/Oncology, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genoa, Italy; 12Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy; 13Applied Research Division for Cognitive and Psychological Science, IEO European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Milan, Italy; 14Psychology Unit, IRCCS Regina Elena Cancer Institute, Rome, Italy; 15Medical Oncology Unit, Umberto I Hospital, Department of Oncology, RAO, Siracusa, ItalyCorrespondence: Luigino Dal Maso, Epidemiologia Oncologica, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico di Aviano (CRO) IRCCS, Via Franco Gallini 2, Aviano (PN), 33081, Italy, Tel +39 0434 659354, Email [email protected] Paolo Tralongo, Medical Oncology Unit, Umberto I Hospital, Department of Oncology, RAO, Via Giuseppe Testaferrata 1, Siracusa, 96100, Italy, Tel +39 0931 724 464, Email [email protected]: A multidisciplinary panel of experts and cancer patients developed a position paper to highlight recent evidence on “cancer cure” (ie, the possibility of achieving the same life expectancy as the general population) and discuss the consequences of this concept on follow-up and rehabilitation strategies. The aim is to inform clinicians, patients, and health-care policy makers about strategies of survivorship care for cured cancer patients and consequences impacting patient lives, spurring public health authorities and research organizations to implement resources to the purpose. Two identifiable, measurable, and reproducible indicators of cancer cure are presented. Cure fraction (CF) is > 60% for breast and prostate cancer patients, > 50% for colorectal cancer patients, and > 70% for patients with melanoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, and cancers of corpus uteri, testis (> 90%), and thyroid. CF was > 65% for patients diagnosed at ages 15– 44 years and 30% for those aged 65– 74 years. Time-to-cure was consistently < 1 year for thyroid and testicular cancer patients and < 10 years for patients with colorectal and cervical cancers, melanoma, and Hodgkin lymphoma. The working group agrees that the evidence allows risk stratification of cancer patients and implementation of personalized care models for timely diagnosis, as well as treatment of possible cancer relapses or related long-term complications, and preventive measures aimed at maintaining health status of cured patients. These aspects should be integrated to produce an appropriate follow-up program and survivorship care plan(s), avoiding stigma and supporting return to work, to a reproductive life, and full rehabilitation. The “right to be forgotten” law, adopted to date only in a few European countries, may contribute to these efforts for cured patients.Keywords: cancer cure, survivorship, time-to-cure, personalized care models, right to be forgotten

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