Follow-up issues in survivors of hematologic malignancies – Current stance and future perspectives

Abstract

Cancer care advances have led to increased numbers of cancer survivors and to improved understanding of late effects of cancers and their therapies and survivorship issues. Long-term follow-up of cancer patients is crucial in preventing and managing many of the late effects of cancers and their therapies. However, the literature has highlighted the high rates of loss to follow–up (loss to FU) after cancer treatment, particularly in patients with hematologic malignancies. In this review, we performed a systematic search of published literature on issues pertaining to loss to FU in survivors of hematologic malignancies, highlighting the predictors of increased or decreased rates of loss to FU. We found that the literature on survivors of adulthood cancers is very limited, in contrast to articles discussing young adult survivors of childhood cancers. Predictors and barriers of loss to FU were found to be variable in different studies; however, they shared some common themes, including disease-related, logistic, financial and educational factors. Furthermore, we discuss the potential interventions to mitigate the loss to FU, along with discussing research priorities in this area.