NCCN Guidelines Insights: Survivorship, Version 2.2019.

The NCCN Guidelines for Survivorship provide screening, evaluation, and treatment recommendations for consequences of cancer and cancer treatment to aid healthcare professionals who work with survivors of adult-onset cancer. Guidance is also provided to help promote physical activity, weight management, and proper immunizations in survivors and to facilitate care coordination to ensure that all needs are addressed. These NCCN Insights summarize some of the topics discussed by the NCCN Survivorship Panel during the 2019 update of the guidelines, including the survivorship population addressed, ways to improve care coordination, and pain management.

Survivorship, Version 2.2018, NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology.

The NCCN Guidelines for Survivorship provide screening, evaluation, and treatment recommendations for common physical and psychosocial consequences of cancer and cancer treatment to help healthcare professionals who work with survivors of adult-onset cancer in the posttreatment period. This portion of the guidelines describes recommendations regarding the management of anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity and lymphedema. In addition, recommendations regarding immunizations and the prevention of infections in cancer survivors are included.

Survivorship, Version 2.2017, NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology.

Many cancer survivors experience menopausal symptoms, including female survivors taking aromatase inhibitors or with a history of oophorectomy or chemotherapy, and male survivors who received or are receiving androgen-ablative therapies. Sexual dysfunction is also common in cancer survivors. Sexual dysfunction and menopause-related symptoms can increase distress and have a significant negative impact on quality of life.

NCCN Guidelines Insights: Survivorship, Version 1.2016.

The NCCN Guidelines for Survivorship provide screening, evaluation, and treatment recommendations for common consequences of cancer and cancer treatment. They are intended to aid health care professionals who work with survivors of adult-onset cancer in the posttreatment period, including those in general oncology, specialty cancer survivor clinics, and primary care practices. Guidance is also provided to help promote physical activity, weight management, and proper immunizations in survivors.

Risk of marrow neoplasms after adjuvant breast cancer therapy: the national comprehensive cancer network experience.

Purpose: Outcomes for early-stage breast cancer have improved. First-generation adjuvant chemotherapy trials reported a 0.27% 8-year cumulative incidence of myelodysplastic syndrome/acute myelogenous leukemia.

Survivorship: screening for cancer and treatment effects, version 2.2014.

The NCCN Guidelines for Survivorship provide screening, evaluation, and treatment recommendations for common physical and psychosocial consequences of cancer and cancer treatment. This portion of the guidelines describes recommendations regarding screening for the effects of cancer and its treatment. The panel created a sample screening tool, specifically for use in combination with the NCCN Guidelines for Survivorship, to guide providers to topics that require more in-depth assessment.

Survivorship: nutrition and weight management, Version 2.2014. Clinical practice guidelines in oncology.

Healthy lifestyle habits have been associated with improved health outcomes and quality of life and, for some cancers, a reduced risk of recurrence and death. The NCCN Guidelines for Survivorship therefore recommend that cancer survivors be encouraged to achieve and maintain a healthy lifestyle, including attention to weight management, physical activity, and dietary habits. This section of the NCCN Guidelines focuses on recommendations regarding nutrition, weight management, and supplement use in survivors.

Survivorship: healthy lifestyles, version 2.2014.

Healthy lifestyle habits have been associated with improved health outcomes and quality of life and, for some cancers, a reduced risk of recurrence and death. The NCCN Guidelines for Survivorship therefore recommend that cancer survivors be encouraged to achieve and maintain a healthy lifestyle, with attention to weight management, physical activity, and dietary habits. This section of the NCCN Guidelines focuses on recommendations regarding physical activity in survivors, including assessment for the risk of exercise-induced adverse events, exercise prescriptions, guidance for resistance training, and considerations for specific populations (eg, survivors with lymphedema, ostomies, peripheral neuropathy).

Survivorship: immunizations and prevention of infections, version 2.2014.

Cancer survivors are at an elevated risk for infection because of immune suppression associated with prior cancer treatments, and they are at increased risk of complications from vaccine-preventable diseases. This section of the NCCN Guidelines for Survivorship provides recommendations for the prevention of infections in survivors through education, antimicrobial prophylaxis, and the judicious use of vaccines. These guidelines provide information about travel and gardening precautions and safe pet care/avoidance of zoonosis, and include detailed recommendations regarding vaccinations that should be considered and encouraged in cancer and transplant survivors.

Survivorship: cognitive function, version 1.2014.

Cognitive impairment is a common complaint among cancer survivors and may be a consequence of the tumors themselves or direct effects of cancer-related treatment (eg, chemotherapy, endocrine therapy, radiation). For some survivors, symptoms persist over the long term and, when more severe, can impact quality of life and function. This section of the NCCN Guidelines for Survivorship provides assessment, evaluation, and management recommendations for cognitive dysfunction in survivors.

Survivorship: fatigue, version 1.2014.

Many cancer survivors report that fatigue is a disruptive symptom even after treatment ends. Persistent cancer-related fatigue affects quality of life, because individuals become too tired to fully participate in the roles and activities that make life meaningful. Identification and management of fatigue remains an unmet need for many cancer survivors.

Optimizing surveillance and balancing evidence with patient expectations.

For most cancers, intensive posttreatment surveillance does not improve survival, but can induce anxiety in patients and may lead to unnecessary testing due to false-positive results. For colorectal cancer, more intensive surveillance, especially during the first few survivorship years, is warranted. For breast cancer, surveillance for second primary cancers with annual mammography is warranted.

Survivorship: sleep disorders, version 1.2014.

Sleep disorders, including insomnia and excessive sleepiness, affect a significant proportion of patients with cancer and survivors, often in combination with fatigue, anxiety, and depression. Improvements in sleep lead to improvements in fatigue, mood, and quality of life. This section of the NCCN Guidelines for Survivorship provides screening, diagnosis, and management recommendations for sleep disorders in survivors.

Survivorship: pain version 1.2014.

Many posttreatment cancer survivors experience chronic pain, often leading to psychological distress; decreased activity, motivation, and personal interactions; and an overall poor quality of life. This section of the NCCN Guidelines for Survivorship provides screening and management recommendations for pain in survivors. A multidisciplinary approach is recommended, with a combination of pharmacologic treatments, psychosocial and behavioral interventions, physical therapy and exercise, and interventional procedures.

Survivorship: sexual dysfunction (male), version 1.2013.

Various anticancer treatments, especially those directed toward the pelvis, can damage blood vessels and reduce circulation of blood to the penis and/or damage the autonomic nervous system, resulting in higher rates of erectile dysfunction in survivors than in the general population. In addition, hormonal therapy can contribute to sexual problems, as can depression and anxiety, which are common in cancer survivors. This section of the NCCN Guidelines for Survivorship provides screening, evaluation, and treatment recommendations for male sexual problems, namely erectile dysfunction.

Survivorship: introduction and definition. Clinical practice guidelines in oncology.

Many cancer survivors experience physical and/or psychosocial side effects, which can be severe, debilitating, and sometimes permanent. These NCCN Guidelines for Survivorship provide screening, evaluation, and treatment recommendations for common consequences of cancer and cancer treatment for health care professionals who work with survivors of adult-onset cancer in the posttreatment period. These introductory sections of the guidelines include the panel's definition of cancer survivors, a discussion of the effects of cancer and its treatment, general principles and standards for survivorship care, and guidance regarding screening for problems that require further assessment.

NCCN Task Force Report: Oral chemotherapy.

Oral chemotherapy is emerging as a new option for well-selected patients who can manage potentially complex oral regimens and self-monitor for potential complications. If a choice between oral and parenteral therapy is available, patients may opt for oral chemotherapy because it is more convenient to administer, allows them to avoid multiple office visits, and gives them a sense of control over their own cancer care. Whether these potential advantages are maintained in regimens that combine oral and parenteral drugs is less clear.