Adolescent & Young Adults Oncology (AYA Oncology)

Theme: Adolescent & Young Adults Oncology (AYA Oncology)
Date:  11 March, 2021 (Thu), 19:00-20:40 HKT

Topic 1: INAUGURAL YOANNA WONG LECTURE
The Importance and Relevance of Dedicated AYA Oncology Care
Presenter: Dr. Jeremy Lewin, Medical Director, Victorian Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Service, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Australia

Abstract:
A cancer diagnosis during the adolescent and young years (AYA) can be highly challenging for young people and their families. In response to their unique clinical needs and the lagging survival improvement seen within this population, there has been an acknowledgement of the importance of dedicated supports for AYA. Key elements of AYA oncology are increasingly being described including the importance of: developmentally appropriate care; partnerships between the paediatric and adult sector; leveraging existing cancer services to meet the needs of young people; AYA multidisciplinary teams; care centralisation; promotion of clinical trials; and facilitation of transition to healthy survivorship.  This presentation will share the importance and dedicated AYA oncology care with a focus on its relevance to sarcoma programs.  It will provide an overview of AYA cancer epidemiology and outcomes, a discussion of mechanisms for sarcoma programs to serve as a template for AYA oncology more broadly and mechanisms to promote clinical trials. A detailed reflection on AYA program development in Victoria, Australia will follow, reviewing the process of program establishment as well as describing critical components of the current model of care.

Topic 2: Addressing the unique needs of AYA cancer survivors in Hong Kong: Current gaps and opportunities
Presenter: Prof. Yin-Ting Cheung, Assistant Professor, School of Pharmacy, CUHK

Abstract: 
Major advances in health care delivery have dramatically improved the survival rates for pediatric and AYA cancer. Unfortunately, survivorship often comes at a cost of developing a myriad of treatment-related complications. In this presentation, I will first highlight the unique health and psychosocial problems that can adversely impact survivors’ quality of life and functional outcomes. I will discuss key findings of survivorship studies from both international and local collaborations. Moving beyond characterizing late effects in survivors, I will also share the current gaps and future research direction in optimizing quality survivorship care in the AYA cancer population. The eventual goal of this work is to develop an evidence-based and culturally relevant model that will facilitate “personalized survivorship care” for each cancer survivor.