Are Young Adult Survivors of Pediatric Cancer Being Overlooked? Cognitive Testing Results and Referrals in Child, Adolescent, and Young Adult Survivors

J Adolesc Young Adult Oncol. 2023 Oct;12(5):782-786. doi: 10.1089/jayao.2022.0080. Epub 2023 Feb 28.

Abstract

Treatment gaps in meeting the neuropsychological needs of young adult (YA) cancer survivors can be attributed to several clinical and systemic reasons. Access to neurocognitive care can be increased through the effective integration of neuropsychological monitoring and intervention in survivorship care. In this brief report, we aim to compare the efficacy of a brief neuropsychological screener (DIVERGT) in meeting the assessment and referral needs of pediatric and YA cancer survivors (n = 40) as part of a wellness and survivorship clinic. Participants (n = 40) were patients who presented to a pediatric oncology survivorship clinic over the span of 15 months.

Keywords: late effects; neurocognitive late effects; neuropsychological screening; young adult cancer survivors.