Transitioning Adolescent and Young Adult cancer care research out of its adolescence

Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Oncology research is steadily but perceptibly entering a more mature phase. Adolescent and Young Adult-specific services have existed for almost 30 years, embedded in England since the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published guidance in 2005 directing where and how AYA aged 16-24 years were to be treated and cared for. Similar progress is being made with services across the world, where the lower age is considered to be in the region of 13 years at diagnosis and the upper age ranging from 29-39 years depending on jurisdiction (Husson, Manten-Horst et al., 2016, Saloustros, Stark et al., 2017, Stark, Bielack et al., 2016). Somewhat later than the development of specialist services was the need to evaluate the outcomes associated with such services, subsequently there has been an increase in high quality, programmatic research to evaluate and guide services (Parsons, Harlan et al., 2015, Stark, Bielack et al., 2016, Whelan J, 2012, White, Daly et al., 2016).