Pediatric Cancer (Canada)

Top 10 priorities

1. How can treatment-related long-term effects be best prevented and managed in pediatric oncology patients and survivors? 
2. What are the best interventions to improve mental and psychosocial health in children with cancer during and after treatment? 
3. How can adolescent and young adult oncology patients and survivors be best supported during and after cancer treatment? 
4. How do we minimize barriers for patients and families to access pediatric cancer therapies (e.g., geographic, language, financial, clinical trial eligibility criteria)? 
5. How can Canada effectively advance the development of and access to innovative and safer treatments, including precision and targeted therapies, for childhood cancers? 
6. What are the barriers to clinical implementation of pediatric cancer research findings (e.g., new protocols, drug therapies) and how can these be overcome? 
7. What are the risk factors for survivors developing long-term physical and mental health effects of pediatric cancer and treatment? 
8. How can fertility be successfully preserved in pediatric oncology patients? 
9. What are the physical, mental, and other psychosocial health effects of pediatric cancer and treatment on patients and survivors?
10. What can be done to prevent, detect and treat relapse and refractory cancer in pediatric oncology patients?

The following questions were also discussed and put in order of priority at the workshop:

11. How can we improve the quality of mental and physical health supports and other social supports available to survivors of pediatric cancer? 
12. How can the cure rate of childhood cancer be improved?
13. How can children with cancer and their families be supported to minimize the financial toxicities associated with cancer? 
14. How can we improve funding for pediatric oncology research, treatment, and psychosocial support? 
15. How do we improve screening and diagnosis for pediatric oncology patients?
16. How can cancer treatments be improved to ensure that they are designed specifically to treat pediatric cancer? 
17. How do we optimize transition from pediatric cancer care to adult cancer care? 
18. How can families and friends impacted by pediatric oncology best be supported mentally and psychosocially throughout and after treatment? 
19. How do we best track and monitor health issues for survivors of pediatric cancer? 
20. What are the causes of childhood cancer and how can it be prevented?
21. How can parents and caregivers best support their child's physical and mental health and ability to cope, during and after their cancer journey? 
22. How does pediatric cancer treatment affect a child's ability to learn during and after cancer? 
23. Why do some pediatric cancer patients relapse? 
24. How can complementary and alternative medicine be integrated into childhood cancer treatment plans? 

Document downloads

For full details of all of the questions identified by this PSP, please see the document below.